OF  THK 


University  of  Olifornia. 

GIKT  OK  ^ 


s  > 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/centuryinphosphaOOchazrich 


Xhe    Oenxury 

IN  PHOSPHATES  AND 
FERTILIZERS 


A  Sketch  of  the  South  Carolina 
Phosphate  Industry 


B^' 


PHILIP  E.  CHAZAL  H.  M. 


'<  LIBRARY, 
'-"-tL£y,  CALIFORNIA, 


Presses  of 

Lucas-Richardson  Lithograph  &  Printing  Co. 

I  30  East  Bay  St.. 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C. 

1904. 


.^- 


Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard,  Jr. 


"THE    Century 

IN    PHOSPHATES    AND 
FERTILIZERS 


A  Sketch  of  the  South  Carolina 


Phosphate  Industry 


PHILIP  E.  CHAZAL  E.  M. 


5^^ 


Ji    '  6(UUy^ 


/i. 


The  following  sketch  of  the  Phosphate  and  Fertilizer 
Industry  of  South  Carolina  was  prepared  for  the  Centennial 
Edition  of  the  News  and  Courier,  issued  April  20,  1904, 
and  to  this  fact  are  due  its  form  and  some  of  the  matter 
included,  of  a  general  rather  than  a  local  character. 

It  contains  .some  necessarj'-  corrections,  and  a  few 
additions  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  add  to  its  interest  and 
value. 


THE   CE^' 


IN 


X  \  B  R  A  ;f> 

or  THE 


Phosphates  and  Fertilizers 


A  SKETCH    OF  THE    SOUTH  CAROLINA  PHOSPHATE 

INDUSTRY. 


The  phosphate  region  of  South  Carolina  lies  along  the  coast, 
and  practically  parallel  to  the  shore  line,  for  a  distance  of  abour 
seventy  miles,  extending  from  the  Wando  River,  on  the  north, 
to  Broad  River,  on  the  south,  and  at  a  distance  of  from  ten  to 
thirty  miles  from  the  ocean. 

North  of  this  region  occasional  specimens  have  been  reported 
in  this  State,  notably  in  the  neighborhood  of  Georgetown,  but  no 
deposit  has  ever  been  developed.  The  beds  discovered  still 
furthei  north,  in  North  Carolina,  are  of  low  grade  and  no  com- 
mercial importance. 

South  of  Broad  River,  with  the  exception  ot  a  few  isolated 
specimens  found  in  some  of  the  Georgia  coastal  rivers,  a  similar 
condition  of  affairs  prevails  until  the  State  of  Florida  is  reached. 
Even  here  the  deposits  located  on  the  eastern  coast,  unlike  the 
valuable  beds  of  the  western  and  central  portions  of  the  State, 
have  proven  of  no  commercial  value. 

The  phosphate  beds  are,  of  course,  not  continuous  within 
this  region,  unless,  indeed,  they  are  connected  at  depths  so  far 
not  reached  in  prospecting.  The  level  character  of  the  beds, 
however,  and  their  modes  of  occurrence  make  this  continuity 
extremely  improbable  and  practically  non-existent.  In  any 
event,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  practical  importance  under  existing 
conditions,  and  of  interest  only  in  connection  with  the  consid- 
eration of  the  mode  of  formation  of  the  deposits. 

No  State  examination  has  ever  been  made  of  the  phosphate 
region.  In  1870  Professor  N.  S.  Shaler  was  sent  by  the  United 
States  Coast  Survey  to  make  explorations  to  outline  the  limits 
of  the  deposits,  presumably  in  the  rivers  and  was  so  engaged 
for  about  two  years.     The    work,  however,  was  then   suspended, 

1  ^9B6c5 


on  account  of  legal  difficulties  about  publishing  its  results  in 
the  reports  of  the  Coast  Survey,  and  no  such  publication  was 
made. 

It  was  not  until  Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard,  Jr.,  of  Charles- 
ton caused  to  be  prepared,  under  his  direction,  a  map  of  the  lower 
portion  of  the  State  setting  forth  the  results  of  his  extended 
personal  explorations  and  investigations,  together  with  informa- 
tion gathered  by  him  from  various  sources,  that  any  attempt 
was  made  to  outline  the  limits  of  the  phosphatic  area.  The  map 
so  prepared  was  confined  to  the  coastal  region  of  the  State, 
showing  its  main  topographical  features,  and  having  outlined  in 
red  the  areas  within  which  phosphatic  deposits  existed  at  a  depth 
of  six  feet  or  less,  this  depth  being  considered  at  that  ^ime  as 
the  extreme  limit  of  profitable  exploitation. 

In  1881  this  map  was  revised  by  Professor  Shepard  in  connec- 
tion with  an  article  by  him  on  the  phosphate  industry  of  the 
State,  which  was  published  in  the  annual  report  for  that  year  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  of  the  State. 

This  report,  for  which  there  was  a  great  demand,  is  out  of 
print  and  the  map  is  no  longer  procurable,  very  unfortunately, 
as  it  remains  practically  the  only  one  ever  issued,  the  smaller, 
uncolored  maps  given  in  several  national  publications  being  in 
reality  copies  thereof,  and,  except  in  one  instance,  uncredited. 

SUB-DIVISIONS  OF  PHOSPHATE  REGION. 

The  phosphate  deposits,  as  has  been  said,  do  not  lie  in  con- 
tinous  beds  through  the  whole  phosphate  region,  but  occur  at 
intervals  within  this  territory. 

Beginning  from  their  Northern  limit,  however,  the  principal 
beds  may  be  divided  into  general  groups,  which  may  be  desig- 
nated as  follows: 

Wando  River  beds. 

Cooper  River  beds. 

Northeastern  Railroad  and  Mount  Holly  beds. 

Ashley  River  beds. 

Stono  River  beds. 

Edisto  and  Ashepoo  beds. 

Coosaw  River  beds. 

Beaufort  River  beds. 

WANDO  RIVER  BEDS. 

In  the  headwaters  of  this  river  there  was  a  considerable  de- 
posit of  rock  of  fair  quality,  much    of  which  was  hand-mined  by 


the  Marine  ana  River  Company  with  oyster  tongs  and  rakes. 
Intermixed  with  the  rock  occurred  large  numbers  of  fossil  bones, 
from  which  it  was,  at  times,  very  difficult  to  distinguish  the 
'  former,  on  account  of  its  remarkably  fine-grained  structure.  Large 
quantities  of  menillite,  false  opal,  were  also  found  in  this  river. 
The  transition  to  this  from  the  rock  was  so  gradual,  and  the  ex- 
ternal resemblance  between  them  so  close,  that  a  considerable 
amount  of  this  worthless  material  was  mined  and  lightered  to 
Charleston. 

I'he  land  beds  of  this  vicinity  never  proved  of  value,  the  at- 
tempts to  mine  them  having  been  generally  unsatisfactory. 

COOPER  RIVER  BEDS. 

The  land  deposits  along  this  river  have  not  proven  remunera- 
tive. Though  some  of  the  rock  is  of  good  quality,  it  has  never 
been  found  in  sufficient  quantity  to  justify  exploitation. 

NORTHEASTERN    RAILROAD    AND    MOUNT    HOLLY 

BEDS. 

Some  bodies  of  rock  of  high  quality  have  been  mined  in  this 
locality.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  a  portion  of  the  rock  was  in 
the  form  of  sheets,  requiring  more  or  less  blasting,  and  that  it 
also  contained  a  larger  proportion  of  fine  rock  than  is  usual  in 
most  Carolina  deposits,  the  mining  on  some  of  the  tracts  was 
very  highly  profitable. 

Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  best  deposits  have  been  exhausted. 
There  still  remains,  it  is.  true,  a  considerable  phosphatic  area, 
but  the  small  size  of  some  of  the  deposits  and  the  poor  or  varia- 
ble character  of  the  material  contained  in  the  others  have  made 
and  make  their  profitable  working  practically  impossible  under 
past  and  present  conditions,  or  any  that  are  likely  to  obtain  for 
many  years. 

In  this  neighborhood  the  best  rock  is  of  a  rich  brown  color. 
The  poorer  grades  are  generally  lighter.  Some  of  the  small 
rock,  or  fines,  resembles  very  closely  the  darker  Florida  land 
pebbles,  but  its  quality  is  very  much  poorer.  At  one  point, 
near  Ten-Mile  Hill,  there  is  found  a  very  light  colored  rock 
which  is  so  soft  and  friable  that  it  suffers  great  loss  when  handled 
by  the  ordinary  methods. 

ASHLEY  RIVER  BEDS. 

The  land  beds  of  this  group  have  up  to  this  time  furnished  by 
far  the  greater  part  of  the  output  of  land  rock.  This  deposit  lies 
on  both  sides  of  the  Ashley  River.      East  of  the  river  it  began  at 


a  point  about  a  mile  below  Bee's  Ferry  (C.  and  S.  R.  R.  bridge), 
and  extended  to  a  point  just  above  the  present  Ashley  Works, 
a  distance  of  some  ten  miles. 

The  upper  portion  of  the  deposit  has  not  proven  of  much 
value,  on  account  of  insufficient  quantity  or  too  great  depth 
below  the  surface,  and  comparatively  little  rock  has  been  taken 
therefrom. 

The  remainder  of  the  deposit,  however,  has  been  one  of  the 
main  sources  of  supply,  a  very  large  amount  of  high  grade  rock 
having  been  mined  therefrom,  generally  at  very  moderate  depths, 
the  rock  at  some  points  lying  practically  at  the  surface. 

So  far  as  is  known  the  rock  on  this  side  of  the  river,  below 
Bee's  Ferry,  may  be  regarded  as  exhausted.  Above  this  point, 
although  the  bulk  of  the  deposit  has  been  mined,  there,  is  still 
a  considerable  amount  remaining. 

On  the  west  bank  of  the  river  and  reaching  from  it  over  to- 
wards Stono  River,  Rantowle's  Creek  and  the  Bear  Swamp  road, 
and  at  points  beyond  this  road,  there  is  a  large  and  very  valua- 
ble body  of  rock  land  of  good  quality  and  moderate  depth. 

Although  this  locality  has  been  the  scene  of  almost  continuous 
mining  from  the  commencement  of  the  industry  and  very  large 
quantities  of  rock  have  been  removed,  the  area  of  its  rock  beds 
was  so  great  that  there  has  not  been  the  same  proportion  of  re- 
moval as  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river. 

With  the  exception  of  a  comparatively  small  amount  now 
being  mined  in  the  Ashepoo-Edisto  neighborhood,  the  Ashley 
River  beds  are  at  present  the  sole  source  of  supply  of  land  rock. 

The  rock  from  these  beds  varies  very  much  in  hardness  and 
color.  Its  phosphatic  content  is  generally  high.  At  points, 
however,  the  percentages  of  oxide  of  iron  and  alumina  are  above 
the  average.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  marsh  rock,  along 
Stono  River,  the  amount  of  these  ingredients  is  generally  lower, 
as  is  to  be  expected  from  its  resemblance  to  river  rock. 

Stono  River  was  the. seat  of  the  main  operations  of  the  old 
Marine  and  River  Mining  Company,  the  first  of  the  river  com- 
panies chartered  by  the  State.  The  operations  of  this  company 
were  large  and*  long  continued  and  the  bulk  of  the  deposits  lying 
at  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  sometimes  covered  with  mud  and 
sand,  was  mined  and  shipped. 

Doubtless  from  the  more  or  less  irregular  character  of  sub- 
marine operations,  isolated  spots  were  left  untouched-.  More- 
over, the  washers  used  by  the  Marine  and  River  Company  were 
not  equipped  to  handle  rock  embedded   in  tenacious   clay.     One 


such  bed,  left  practically  untouched,  is  now  being  mined  by  the 
Stono  Mining  Company  and,  it  is  said,  with  good  results. 

In  the  lower  portion  of  the  river,  near  the  bend,  there  is  said 
to  be  a  considerable  bed  of  sheet  rock,  containing  much  carbonate 
of  lime,  and  being  so  hard  as  to  necessitate  blasting,  which  was 
the  seat  of  operations  of  the  reorganized  Marine  and  River 
Company. 

Stono  River  rock  was  generally  hard  and  black  or  very  dark. 
It  was  sometimes  coated  with  a  highly  polished  enamel,  which 
gave  it  an  extremely  attractive  appearance. 

As  was  the  case  with  most  of  the  river  rock,  it  was  admirably 
suited  for  the  manufacture  of  superphosphate,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  its  average  grade  was  lower  than  the  average  of  the 
land  and  most  other  river  rocks. 

Between  Rantowle's  Creek  and  the  Edisto  River,  a  distance 
of  about  twenty  miles,  there  is  a  considerable  stretch  of  land  in 
which,  although  rock  deposits  exist  at  various  points,  investiga. 
tions  have  failed  to  develop  beds  of  any  consequence  until  the 
Edisto  River  is  reached,  a  state  of  affairs  for  which  it  is  difficult 
to  offer  any  explanation. 

On  the  north  bank  of  the  Edisto,  some  little  distance  above 
t.ie  tracks  of  the  Charleston  and  Savannah  Railway,  a  consider- 
able amount  of  rock  has  been  taken  out  and  a  certain  area  is  still 
left,  some  of  it  said  to  be  very  valuable,  though  no  mining  has 
been  done  there  for  some  years  past. 

Higher  up  the  river,  on  the  same  side,  some  heavy  and,  it  is 
stated,  rather  extensive  deposits  occur,  but  they  are  of  such 
poor  quality  as  to  be  valueless,  except  under  conditions  of  de- 
ficiency of  supply  not  likely  to  obtain  for  many  years,  if  ever. 

EDISTO  RIVER  ROCK. 

Some  comparatively  unimportant  deposits  are  found  in  the 
bed  of  this  river.  For  many  years  the  great  distance  of  water 
transportation  would  have  prevented  their  utilization,  had  their 
quantity  been  sufficient.  Even  since  the  establishment  of  a 
local  factory,  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  utilize  them,  doubt- 
less on  account  of  the  greater  attractiveness  and  cheapness  of 
the  neighboring  land  deposits. 

EDISTO-ASHEPOO  BEDS. 

On  crossing  the  Edisto  River  a  different  state  of  affairs  is  met 
with.  Between  this  river  and  the  Ashepoo  there  is  a  large  area 
in  which   occur   numerous  deposits  of  rock   valuable  on  account 


ot  its  unusually  fine  quality,  running  as  high  at  times  as  64  per 
cent,  of  bone  phosphate  of  lime  in  the  washed,  though  unburnt 
condition,  and  averaging  over  62  per  cent,  of  this  ingredient. 

The  very  general  thinness  of  the  overburden  is  a  conspicuous 
and  valuable  characteristic  of  these  deposits. 

They  lack  the  uniformity  of  the  Ashley  River  beds,  varying 
very  much  in  thickness,  sometimes  in  very  short  distances,  and 
with  a  greater  tendency  to  blank  spots.  The  general  high 
quality  of  the  rock  however,  the  very  small  amount  of  excava- 
tion necessary,  as  w  ell  as  the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
territory  remains  untouched,  except  for  prospecting  purposes, 
make  it  one  of  the  most  valuable  localities  now  left  in  the  State. 
After  the  exhaustion  of  the  more  accessible  lands  now  being 
excavated,  its  present  high  value  must  be  greatly  enhanced. 

TERRITORY  SOUTH  OF  THE  ASHEPOO. 

South  of  the  Ashepoo  River,  no  land  deposits,  at  least  none  of 
consequence,  have  been  found,  except  on  the  islands  bordering 
on  the  Coosaw  River  and  its  tributaries. 

On  South  Williman's  and  Chisolm's  islands,  mining  was  car- 
ried on  at  greater  or  less  intervals  for  many  years. 

On  South  Williman's  Island,  mining  operations  were  never 
resumed  after  the  cyclone  of  1893.  How  much  rock  is  left  on 
the  island  is  not  known. 

On  Chisolm's  Island  there  were  deposits  of  land  and  marsh 
rock.  The  land  mining,  so  far  as  can  be  learned,  did  not  prove 
profitable,  the  quality  not  being  of  the  highest  and  the  over- 
burden in  some  parts  heavy.  Attention  was  soon  turned  to  the 
more  uniform,  shallow  and  high  grade  marsh  rock  of  this  de- 
posit.    A  comparatively  small  portion  was  banked  in  and  mined. 

Chisolm's  Island,  in  time  of  storm,  lies  in  a  very  exposed  po- 
sition, the  Coosaw  River,  which  bounds  it  along  its  whole 
length,  being  in  point  of  fact  an  arm  of  the  sea  rather  than  a 
river,  and  being  noted  for  the  roughness  of  its  waters  even 
under  ordinary  conditions. 

The  construction  and  maintenance  of  banks  is  thus  made 
troublesome  and  very  expensive,  the  problem  being  further 
complicated  by  the  fact  that  the  best  of  the  deposits  lies  imme- 
diately on  the  river  edge  of  the  marsh,  appearing  to  be  virtually 
a  continuation  of  the  neighboring  river  deposit.  It  would  seem 
that  the  only  profitable  method  of  working  would  be  by  dredge 
from  the  river,  and  after  the   purchase   of  the   property   by   the 


7 

Coosaw  Company,  in  the  last  half  of   the   nineties,   this  coui-s^ 
was  followed,  to  what  extent  is  not  known. 

Chisolm's  Island  contained,  also,  several  more  or  less  bold 
creeks,  containing  rock,  which  were  the  subjects  of  prolonged 
litigation  between  the  owners  and  the  State,  the  verdict  having 
been  in  favor  of  the  latter. 

THL-:  COOSAW  RIVER  BEDS. 

The  Coosaw  deposits  have  held,  in  regard  to  the  river  rock, 
the  position  occupied  by  the  Ashley  River  beds  in  the  exploita- 
tion of  land  rock.  Being  in  reality,  as  has  been  said,  a  wide 
arm  of  sea,  itsdeep  bed  was  a  receptable  for  the  drift  of  a  large 
area  and  its  bottom  was  practically  rock  covered. 

The  rock  is  found  in  great  beds  of  nodules  and  boulders,  and 
is  black,  hard,  and  of  fine  quality  when  free  from  marl.  Since 
the  exhaustion  of  the  main  beds,  the  usual  difficulties  of  dredg- 
ing have  been  increased  manifold  by  the  necessity  for  dealing 
with  the  more  or  less  mixed  material  which  is  present  in  lartre 
quantities. 

Most  of  the  smaller  lateral  streams  have  been  worked  out, 
and  the  only  mining  being  carried  on  any  .where  in  this  neigh- 
borhood is  in  Coosaw  river  proper. 

BEAUFORT  RIVER  BEDS. 

This  river  contained  several  good  beds  of  rock  of  somewhat 
inferior  grade,  so  far  as  analysis  in  concerned,  but  making,  with 
the  formula  in  use  at  the  time,  a  super-phosphate  equal  in 
grade  to  those  obtained  by  the  treatment  of  the  usual  standard 
rocks.  There  were  also  one  or  more  beds  of  better  grade,  but 
they  were  very  deep  and  difficult  to  mine. 

PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  ROCK. 

Carolina  rock  is  essentially  nodular,  the  nodules  varying,  it 
is  true,  from  fines  the  size  ot  a  pea  to  boulders  of  two  thousand 
pounds,  with  an  average  weight,  however,  of  only  a  few  pounds. 
It  occurs  sometimes  in  flat  cakes,  more  or  less  easily  breakable 
into  their  component  nodules,  and,  more  rarely,  in  sheet-like 
strata,  in  which  the  nodules,  if  the  mass  ever  existed  as  such, 
have  been  so  cemented  together  in  the  process  of  phosphatiza- 
tion,  that  they  can  no  longer  be  distinguished,  and  which  offer 
an  unbroken,  hard,  and  frequently  polished  and  resistant  sur- 
face, yielding  only  to  blasting.  The  nodules  are  sometimes 
kidney-shaped,  oval,  or  almost  rounded,   more  generally   irregu- 


larly  shaped,  and,  at  times,  somewhat  angular,  this  variation  i'n 
shape  depending,  doubtless,  on  the  amount  of  attrition  they 
received  when  drifted  together  by  the  water  currents,  by  which 
they  were  collected  into  beds. 

They  are  sometimes  almost  solid,  but  more  generally  full  of 
cavities  and  perforations,  probably  due  to  slight  variations  in 
the  chemical  composition  of  the  original  masses,  and  to  the  ac- 
tion of  marine  boring  animals. 

The  surface  is  sometimes  very  highly  polished,  as  if  covered 
with  a  lustrous  enamel.  Generally,  however,  it  is  dull  and 
rough,  the  granular  structure  of  the  mass  being  clearly  visible. 
The  internal  structure  of  the  nodules  is  generally  granular  and 
identical  with  that  of  the  Eocene  maris.  Very  rarely,  some- 
what laminated  masses  are  found.  When  fractured,  the  masses 
sometimes  glisten  with  small  silicious  particles.  The  structure 
is  entirely  amorphous,  no  evidences  of  crystallization  being  dis 
cernible. 

The  porosity  of  the  rock  is  great,  especially  where  the  pol- 
ished enamelled  surface  is  wanting.  After  washing,  the  rock 
may  contain  15  per  cent,  of  moisture,  though  on  air-drying  this 
generally  falls  below  10  per  cent. 

The  color  is  extremely  varied.  The  river  rock  is  generally 
dark-colored,  black  or  grayish  black.  The  land  rock  is  of  lighter 
hues,  varying  from  light  gray  or  yellowish  gray  through  red- 
dish shades  (due  generally  to  an  increased  amount  of  oxide  of 
iron),  to  light  brown,  and  a  rich  dark  chocolate  brown.  The 
marsh  rock  is  generally  dark,  resembling  the  river  rock  more 
closely  than  the  land  rock.  Some  varieties  of  the  marsh  rock, 
indeed,  appear  to  be  identical  with  that  of  the  neighboring  river 
deposits. 

When  calcined  or  properly  kiln-dried,  the  rock  yields  easily 
to  crushing  and  grinding,  and,  especially  in  the  absence  of  the 
small  water-worn  quartz  pebbles  occurring  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  in  most  of  the  deposits,  may  be  reduced  without  diffi- 
culty to  an  extremely  fine  state  of  division.  Indeed,  this  pro- 
cess may  be  carried  so  far  that  most  of  the  product  will  float  in 
the  air. 

So  great  is  the  ease,  comparatively  speaking,  with  which  this 
can  be  done,  that  it  was  at  one  time  thought  feasible  to  sup- 
plant thereby  the  generally  accepted  method  of  chemical  -sub- 
division with  sulphuric  acid,  and  considerable  efforts  were  de- 
voted to  this  end  before  the  advocates  of  the  theory  became 
satisfied  that  it  was  neither  practical  nor  economical. 


9 

When  ground,  the  color  of  the  resultant  powder  varies  from 
a  light  yellowish  gray  for  land  rock,  to  a  darker,  though  still 
light  gray  when  derived  from  river  rock.  In  all  cases  the  color 
of  the  powder  is  lighter  than  that  of  the  unground  nodules. 

The  specific  gravity  of  Carolina  rock  varies  from  2  to  2}^, 
averaging  according  to  a  large  number  of  determinations  made 
by  Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard,  Jr.,  about  2.4.  The  density  of 
the  river  rock  is  generally  greater  than  that  of  the  land  varieties. 

The  river  rock  is  also  generally  harder  than  land  rock,  though 
this  is  not  invariably  the  case,  some  varieties  of  the  latter,  nota- 
bly the  sheet  rock  mentioned  above,  being  very  hard  and  re- 
sistant, at  least  at  the  surface. 

This  hardness  varies  between  3.5  and  4,  though  one  very  soft 
variety,  identified  by  Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard,  Sr.,  as 
epiglaubite,  had  a  hardness  of  only  2. 

The  structure  of  the  nodules  is  very  seldom  uniform.  It  is 
generally  densest  and  hardest  at  the  surface,  the  interior  grow- 
ing softer  and  more  granular  towards  the  centre,  the  color  also 
varying.  The  lumps  also  contain,  though  very  rarely,  internal 
cavities  (not  perforations)  containing  sand  or  clay. 

THICKNESS  OF  STRATA. 

The  rock  lies  in  strata  of  greater  or  less  thickness,  varying 
from  two  or  three  inches  to  thirty  or  thirty-six  inches,  the  latter, 
however,  being  very  unusual.  The  average  thickness  of  the 
workable  beds  may  be  estimated  at  from  8  to  9  inches,  deposits 
of  12  to  16  inches  being  considered  unusually  good. 

The  thickness  of  the  stratum,  however,  is  by  no  means  neces- 
sarily an  indication  of  the  yield  per  acre,  and  therefore  is  not 
the  only  factor  to  be  considered.  With  varying  conditions  of 
density,  solidity  and  greater  or  less  freedom  from  mixture  with 
clay  or  sand,  it  is  evident  that  different  deposits  with  the  same 
thickness  of  stratum  may  yield  very  different  returns. 

Ignorance  or  forgetfulness  of  this  important,  though  simple 
and  apparently  self-evident  fact,  has  been  the  cause  of  frequent 
error  and  loss. 

YIELD  PER  ACRE. 

The  yield  of  the  l^nd  deposits  varies  from  three  hundred  to 
twelve  and  fifteen  hundred  tons  per  acre,  with  an  average  of 
between  seven  hundred  and  eight  hundred  tons. 


It) 

ODOR  OF  THE  ROCK. 

Pieces  of  freshly  fractured  Carolina  rock,  when  rubbed  to- 
gether, emit  a  peculiar  odor  bearing  a  slight  resemblance  to  burn- 
ing horn.  The  odor  generally  increases  with  the  density  of 
the  rock  and  the  content  of  organic  matter.  It  is  probably  due 
to  the  vaporization  of  some  oily  constituent  of  the  latter  ingre- 
dient by  the  heat  of  friction. 

CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  ROCK. 

As  would  be  expected  from  what  has  been  said  as  to  the  great 
differences  in  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  rock,  and  its 
entirely  amorphous  character,  its  chemical  composition  varies 
greatly. 

The  bulk  of  the  mass  is  made  up  of  phosphoric  and  carbonic 
acids,  in  combination  with  lime,  and  of  sand  or  insoluble  sili- 
cious  matter,  and  the  grade  and  consequent  value  of  the  rock  is 
determined  by  the  fluctuations  in  the  amounts  of  these  ingre- 
dients. 

The  rest  of  the  mass  is  made  up  of  sulphuric  acid,  iron  pyrites, 
(about  I  per  cent.),  fluorine,  chlorine,  iodine,  magnesia,  oxides 
of  iron  and  manganese,  alumina,  potash,  soda,  organic  matter 
and  water,  with  occasional  faint  traces  of  other  ingredients. 

On  account  of  its  variability  and  lack  of  uniformity  of  com- 
position, It  is  impossible  to  give  any  average  analysis,  which  \v\\\ 
serve  as  an  exemplar  of  the  whole. 

A  table  taken  from  a  lecture  delivered  by  Professor  Charles  U. 
Shepard,  Jr.,  in  1879,  ^^  "South  Carolina  Phosphates,"  will 
serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the  range  of  the  various  more  important 
constituents.  This  table,  which  Professor  Shepard  stated  was  the 
result  of  many  hundred  analyses  of  clean,  dry  samples  of  rock, 
is  as  follows: 

(i)   Phosphoric  acid 25      to  28  p.  c. 

(2)   Carbonic  acid 2>^  to     5  p.  c. 

Sulphuric  acid >2  to     2  p.  c. 

Lime 35      to  42  p.  c. 

Magnesia traces  to     2  p.  c. 

Alumina traces  to     2  p.  c. 

Sesquioxide  of  iron i       to     4  p.  c. 

F'luorine i      to     2  p.  c. 

Sand  and  silica 4      to   12  p.  c. 

Organic  matter  and  combined  water 2      to     6  p.  c. 

Moisture >^  to     4  p.  c. 


11 

(i)   Equivalent  to  bone  phosphate  of  lime,   55  to  61   per  cent. 

(2)  Equivalent  to  carbonate  of  lime,  5  to  1 1  per  cent. 

The  organic  matter  is  nitrogenous,  containing  occasionally 
as  high  as  a  quarter  per  cent,  nitrogen. 

Developments  by  mining,  or  extensive  prospecting  carried  on 
since  the  date  of  preparation  of  this  table,  would  seem  to  necessi- 
tate some  changes  therein, 

The  higher  limit  for  bone  phospliate  of  lime  is  somewhat  low, 
there  being  in  the  Edisto-Ashepoo  region  deposits  yielding  64 
per  cent,  of  this  ingredient. 

Some  quite  high  grade  material,  too,  has  shown  as  much  as 
13  per  cent,  of  sand,  and  the  higher  limit  for  carbonate  of  lime 
is  also  somewhat  low  in  the  light  of  the  experience  of  recent 
years. 

Comparatively  few  complete  analyses  of  Carolina  rock  are  at 
present  accessible,  and  it  may  therefore  be  of  interest  to  present 
a  few  of  these,  as  well  as  some  partial  analyses,  showing  the 
grades  of  the  material  occuring  at  different  localities. 

ANALYSIS  OF  LAND  ROCK  FROM  BULOW  MINES. 

(Made  by  Dr.  VV.  D.  Wamer,    Assistant  to  Professor  Charles  U. 

Shcpard  Jr.) 

P.  C. 

Moisture 2.43 

Organic  matter  and  water  of  combination 5.68 

(i)  Phosphoric  acid 27.23 

Sulphuric  acid 1.45 

Carbonic  acid 3.05 

Lime 39- 10 

Magnesia traces 

Oxide  of  Iron 1.38 

Alumina 0.40 

Silicious  (insoluble)  matter 13-03 

Fluorine,  chlorine  and  other  ingredients,  undetermined. .  .  .     5.25 


100.00 
(i)   Equivalent  to  59.44  per  cent,  bone  phosphate  of  lime. 
The   following   analysis  of,   unfortunately,  a    low    grade  rock^ 

was   made    by  Professor   R.   Fresenius,    the  celebrated    German 

chemist,  and  is  of  very  great  interest. 

No  record  is  at  hand  of  the  variety  of  rock  represented  by  the 

analysis,  but   from  the   results  it    would   appear  to   have   been  a 

sample  of  river  rock. 


12 

P.  C. 

Lime '. 39.40 

Magnesia 0.49 

Soda 0.69 

Potash .* 0.07 

Alumina 062 

Sesquioxide  of  iron 0.56 

Iron i^y 

Sulphur i,5pr 

Sulphuric  acid 0.53 

Phosphoric  acid 24.64 

Carbonic  acid 4. 54 

Chlorine 0.02 

Fluorine 3.24 

Silica  and  sand 16.38 

Moisture  expelled  at  iOO°  C r.83 

Moisture  expelled  at  red  heat 4.66 

Organic  matter 0.75 

Total 101.36 

Correction  for  oxygen 1.36 

Corrected  total 100.00 

Professor  Fresenius  combined  these  ingredients  as  follows: 

P.  C. 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime .    ..    53.790 

Fluoride  of  calcium 6.050 

Chloride  of  calcium 0.035 

Sulphate  of  lime 0.900 

Carbonate  of  lime 9.090 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 1.030 

Soda 0.690 

Potash 0.070 

Alumina 0.620 

Oxide  of  iron 0.560 

Silica  and  sand. 16.380 

Pyrites 2.940 

Water  at  lOo""  C 1-830 

Water  at  red  heat 4.660 

Organic  matter  and  loss 0.755 

100.000 


13 

Professor  Fresenius  considered  the  soda,  potash,  alumina  and 
oxide  of  iron  as  combined  with  silicic  or  humic  acid. 

The  low  amount  of  organic  matter  shown  in  this  analysis  is 
very  abnormal  in  Carolina  rock,  a  similar  result  never  having 
come  under  the  observation  of  the  writer.  Exactly  what  is 
meant  by  the  term  "water  expelled  at  red  heat"  is  also  not 
clear.  The  water  of  combination  or  crystallization  of  rock  is 
given  off  at  a  temperature  somewhat  above  the  boiling  point, 
and  very  far  below  red  heat. 

So  low  a  percentage  of  organic  matter  could  have  been  ob- 
tained only  in  a  sample  of  rock  that  had  been  highly  calcined, 
in  which  case  all  of  the  water  of  crystallization,  as  well  aa  a 
considerable  part  of  the  carbonic  acid,  would  have  been  ex- 
pelled. It  seems  almost  certain  that  a  clerical  error  was  made 
in  reporting  the  analysis,  and  that  the  results  should  be  "organic 
matter  expelled  at  red  heat,  4.66  per  cent,"  and  ''moisture,  etc., 
0.755  per  cent." 

The  following  table  of  analyses,  made  by  Professor  Shepard  in 
the  early  period  of  development  of  the  industry,  is  of  great  value 
and  interest  as  showing  the  results  attained  at  that  time. 

In  the  table  as  presented  here,  several  errors  that  have  crept 
into  some  previous  publications  have  been  corrected,  and,  for 
the  sake  of  comparison,  the  percentages  of  bone  phosphate  of 
lime,  calculated  on  the  dry  basis,  have  been  added: 


•0 

i 

t 

is 
II 

i 

u 

7 

-o 

"i 

a 

x: 
bo 

13 

> 

•0 

a 
1 

ffia 

i  a 

IS 

§ 

ll 

2 

u 

'S 

wo. 

•0 

u 

'5 
1  a 

> 
S 

St 
2 

II 
if 

£5 

cs 

9 

11 

CD 

'r. 

CO 

< 

U 

0 

CO 

z^ 

o  . 
W» 
I'S. 

«o 


Moistiire    at     100°    C    .   .. 

UrKanic  matter  and  com- 
bined water 

Carbonic  acid 

Equivalent  to  Carbonate 
of  lime 

Phosphoric  acid 

Equivalent  to  bone  phos- 
phatet'flime 

Sand 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 
on  dry  basis 


p.  c. 

3.68 

4.78 
4.68 

p.  c 

p.  c. 

1  50 

5  5» 

3.89 

P.O. 

0.00 

526 
4.47 

P  c. 
[■  10  07 
3.55 

p  c. 

0.84 

4.22 
3.54 

p  c. 
0  79 

5.80 
3.61 

p.  c. 
0.57 

4.81 
3.19 

10.64 
2. .61 

9  73 
20.68 

8  84 
25.75 

10.16 
27  01 

8  06 
27  11 

804 
27.26 

8.20 
25.14 

8.61 
27.26 

55  91 
11.55 

58  24 
12.41 

56.21 
11  37 

58.95 
11.37 

59.18 
15  39 

59.51 
9.06 

.^4.88 
13.30 

59.51 
9.06 

58  04 

57.07 

58.95 

60  00 

65.3J 

59.  »> 

3.75 
4.a4 


26.78 


58.46 
11.77 


58.85 


14 
ROCK  FROM  UPPER  WANDO  RIVER. 


P.  C. 

3.85 


4.89 


Moisture 

Organic  matter   . a  S 

Carbonic  Acid 

Carbonate  of  lime 1 1. 1 1 

Phosphoric  acid 25.14 

Bone  Phosphate  of  lime 54.88 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter * 12.06 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime,  dry  basis 57-o8 

WANDO  RIVER— OPPOSITE  CAINHOY. 

P.  C. 

Moisture 4.7Q 


45 
36 
64 
36 
81 
02 
26 


Organic  matter 3 

Carbonic  acid 3 

Carbonate  of  lime 7 

Phosphoric  acid 22 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 48 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 24 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime,  dry  basis 51 

NORTHEASTERN   R.   R.   DEPOSIT— NEAR  MOUNT 

HOLLY. 

(Average  of  four  analyses  of  crude,  clean  rock.) 

P.  C. 

Moisture 0.91 

Phosphoric  acid ^ 26.98 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 58.92 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 9.70 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime,  dry  basis 59-45 

The  carbonate    of  lime  in  these  samples  was  small  in  amount 
and  was  not  determined. 

NORTHEASTERN  R.   R.   DEPOSIT— NEAR  MOUNT 

HOLLY. 

(On  dry  basis.)  P.  C. 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 59-35 

Carbonate  of  lime -   12.28 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 6.57 

'Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 4.13 


15 

FINES  ROCK— NORTHEASTERN   R.   R.   DEPOT- 
ABOVE  OTRANTO, 
(Average  of  six  analyses.) 

(On  dry  basis.)  P.  C. 

Phosphoric  acid 23.88 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 52.43 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 18.96 

The  carbonate  of  lime  in  one  of   these  samples  was    16.43    per 
cent. 

NORTHEASTERN  R.   R.   DEPOT— BETWEEN  JUNC- 
TION AND  TEN   MILE  HILL. 

(On  dry  basis.)  P.  C. 

Organic  matter 6.58 

Carbonic  acid 3.51 

Carbonate  of  lime 7.98 

Phosphoric  acid 26.68 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 58-25 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 1 1.89 

EDISTO  REGION— DEPOSITS  WEST  OF  RIVER. 
(Average  of  over  100  analyses  made  by  Shepard  Laboratory.) 

(On  dry  basis.)  P.  C. 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 60.46 

Carbonate  of  lime 9.64 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 9.16 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 3.62 

The  bone  phosphate   of   lime    in    these    samples    ranged    from 
58.41  per  cent,  to  63.86  per  cent. 

EDISTO-ASHEPOO  REGION— NEARER  ASHEPOO 

RIVER. 

(Average  six  analyses.) 

(On  dry  basis.)  P,  C. 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 61.74 

Carbonate  of  lime 11. 01 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 6.88 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina ,  . ■ 2.08 

EDISTO-ASHEPOO  REGION— NEAR  ASHEPOO  RIVER. 
(Average  five  analyses.) 

(On  dry  basis.)  P.  C. 

Organic  matter 5.87 

Carbonic  acid 3.78 


16 

Carbonate  of  lime 8.59 

Phosphoric  acid 28.47 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 62. 14 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 7.7:^ 

BEAUFORT  RIVER  ROCK. 

(Average  two  analyses.) 

(On  dry  basis.)  P.  C. 

Organic  matter 3.42 

Carbonic  acid 1.71 

Carbonate  of  lime 3.90 

Phosphoric  acid 24. 5 1 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 53-51 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 22.27 

In  many  of  the  nodules,  or  lumps,  of  rock  the  phosphoric  acid 
is  not  uniformly  distributed  through  the  mass.  As  a  general 
thing  the  outer  shell,  especially  where  this  is  enamelled  and 
harder  than  the  core,  contains  more  phosphoric  acid  than  the 
latter,  sometimes  to  the  extent  of  I  per  cent,  or  more. 

It  is  important  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  above  analyses, 
except  in  the  cases  of  cargoes,  represent  crude  rock,  carefully 
washed  and,  generally,  dried,  but  neither  burnt  nor  calcined. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  industry  the  rock  was  dried  in  covered 
bins,  open  at  the  front,  by  hot  air  distributed  through  pcrfor- 
rated  pipes  laid  under  it  near  the  bottom  of  the  piles. 

The  drying  action  was  necessarily  very  uneven.  The  rock 
next  to  the  pipes  was  thoroughly  burnt  and  frequently  calcined, 
particularly  near  the  point  of  entrance  of  the  hot  air,  where  the 
heat  was,  of  course,  greatest.  Toward  the  oppo^te  end  of  the 
shed,  and  as  the  distance  of  the  rock  from  the  pipes  increased, 
the  heat  and  drying  action  diminished  very  materially,  so  that 
the  bulk  of  the  mass  received  little  more  than  a  fairly  thorough 
drying,  while  a  smaller  portion  was  practically  unaffected.  In 
addition  to  this  the  cost  of  the  pipes  was  great  and  their  dura- 
bility small. 

This  method  was  ultimately  abandoned,  and  the  system  now 
in  use  was  adopted,  consisting,  briefly,  in  burning  the  rock,  in 
sheds,  open  on  all  sides,  on  wood  carefully  piled  to  permit  a 
proper  draft.  The  heat  evolved  is  intense,  that  furnished  by 
the  wood  being  materially  increased  by  the  combustion  of  the 
organic  material  of  the  rock,  and  also  by  the  formation  ancl 
combustion  of  water  gas. 


17 

Where  the  process  is  properly  conducted,  all  of  the  rock,  ex- 
cept a  small  thickness  on  the  surface  and  towards  the  sides,  is 
more  or  less  burnt,  while  the  portion  at  the  centre  and  near  the 
bottom  of  the  piles  is  more  or  less  calcined,  By  this  method  of 
drying,  the  moisture  content  of  the  mass,  instead  of  being 
nearly  2  per  cent.,  as  with  the  old  method,  is  frequently  under 
one-half  of  i  per  cent. 

The  amount  of  carbonic  acid  gas  expelled  is  also  greater  than 
under  the  old  conditions.  As  a  consequence,  the  grade  of  the 
rock,  as  shown  by  its  content  of  bone  phosphate  of  lime,  is  ma- 
terially increased,  an  increase  which  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  the  same  rock  which  was  formerly  sold  on  a  minimun  guar- 
antee of  55  per  cent-,  and  afterwards  57  per  cent,  of  this  con- 
stituent, is  now  required  to  meet  a  standard  of  60  per  cent. 

In  considering,  therefore,  the  analyses  which  have  been  given 
above  it  is  important  to  bear  these  facts  in  mind  and  to  remem- 
ber, for  example,  that  a  rock  running  60.46  per  cent,  of  bone 
phosphate  of  lime,  like  the  crude  Edisto  rock,  the  analysis  of 
which  is  given  above,  would  readily  yield,  after  calcination,  64 
to  65  per  cent,  of  that  constituent. 

EXTENT  AND  QUANTITY  OF  THE  DEPOSITS. 

In  the  absence  of  a  systematic  survey  of  the  marine  and  river 
territory,  and  with  the  necessarily  imperfect  knowledge  of  the 
details  of  the  land  beds  prevalent  in  the  early  period  of  the 
industry,  the  data  necessary  for  an  accurate  estimate  of  the 
extent  and  probable  output  of  the  deposits  were  largely  lack- 
ing-. 

The  estimates  then  made  were  therefore  based  on  general  con- 
siderations and,  with  the  varying  conditions  of  occurrence  and 
availability  a^umed,  were  very  widely  apart,  some  indeed  being 
scarcely  more  than  wild  guesses. 

The  information  afforded  by  the  continued  operation  of  the 
land  and  river  deposits,  the  increased  knowledge,  in  a  general 
way,  of  the  former,  and  the  practical  exhaustion  of  the  bulk  of 
the  latter  have  of  course  lessened  to  a  considerable  extent  the 
difficulties  of  the  situation. 

In  point  of  fact,  however,  it  is  only  within  the  last  few  years 
that  some  of  the  largest  land  properties  have  been  prospected 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  and  it  having  been  impossible,  up 
to  the  time  of  the  former  publication  of  this  article, (April  1904), 
to  obtain  the  results  thus  arrived  at  all  that  could  then  be 
reliably  stated  was    that   notwithstanding   the  large  amount   of 


18 

material  already  excavated,  (7,143,216  tons  of  land  rock  and 
4,628,158  tons  of  river  rock,  as  shown  by  the  valuable  statistical 
tables  prepared  by  Major  E.  Willis  for  the  Centennial  issue  of 
The  News  and  Courier),  there  still  remained  a  very  large  amount 
of  rock,  especially  of  the  land  variety,  sufficient  to  furnish  a 
supply  for  many  years. 

Since  that  publication,  the  writer  has  obtained  private  informa- 
tion which  seems  to  justify  him  in  estimating  the  amount  of  rock 
remaining  in  the  land  deposits  at  between  9,000,000  and  11,000, 
000  tons. 

Prominence  has  also  been  recently  given  to  the  claim  that 
there  are  rock  beds  of  consequence  in  the  marshes  adjoining  the 
rivers  and  estuaries  of  the  State,  but  nothing  definite  is  known, 
or  has  been  disclosed,  in  reference  thereto. 

TOPOGRAPHY  OF  THE  PHOSPHATE  REGION  AND 
OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  BEDS. 

As  has  been  stated  above,  the  phosphate  beds  of  South  Caro- 
lina lie  entirely  within  the  coast  region,  in  what  has  been  called 
the  "Lower  Pine  Belt"  of  the  State. 

This  coast  region  is  freely  intersected  by  numerous  rivers, 
creeks  and  arms  of  the  sea,  the  result  being  a  series  of  low  and, 
generally,  long  islands  lying  immediately  on  the  ocean,  and  a 
chain  of  connected  navigable  waterways  separating  the  islands 
from  the  mainland. 

This  chain  of  waterways,  with  the  rivers  and  creeks  flowing 
from  the  interior,  offers  a  safe  and  economical  transportation 
from  the  mines  to  the  points  of  consumption  or  loading. 

The  average  elevation  of  the  region  is  very  low,  hardly  ex- 
ceeding ten  feet  above  high  water  mark.  Occasional  elevations 
of  twenty  to  thirty  feet  are  found,  but  these  are  very  rare. 

Numerous  marshes  and  swamps  occur  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  various  streams,  and  the  low  lands  in  the  region,  therefore, 
cover  a  large  area.  The  phosphate  deposits  occur  most  gener- 
ally in  the  "leads,"  probably  old  waterways,  extending  up  from 
the  streams,  and  this  has  been  a  controlling  reason  for  the  fact 
that  the  depth  of  the  rock  below  the  surface  is  generally  small, 
and  its  excavation,  therefore,  rendered  very  economical. 

The  phosphate  beds  themselves  are  generally  level,  almost 
horizontal,  and  not  following  the  contour  of  the  surface,  and 
hence  the  drainage  of  the  trenches  by  which  it  is  excavated  is 
made  comparatively  simple.    Where  the  ground  rises  the  depth 


to  the  rock  increases,  and  with  the  increase  the  availability  of 
the  rock  comes  into  question. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  make  an  accurate  estimate  of  the 
average  depth  of  the  rock  below  the  surface.  The  average  depth 
of  the  areas  already  mined  would  probably  be  between  six  and 
eight  feet. 

The  rock  beds  are  found  at  all  depths,  from  a  few  inches 
down  to  twenty  feet  or  more,  in  some  few  instances  lying  practi- 
cally at  the  surface. 

As  has  been  noted,  the  depth  has  an  important  bearing  on 
the  cost  of  excavation.  For  many  years  the  extreme  limit  of 
economical  working  was  considered  to  be  six  feet,  and  practi- 
cally no  deposits  of  greater  depth  below  the  surface  were  mined. 
Improved  methods  and  experience  showed  that  this  limit  could 
be  extended  to  greater  depths,  varying  with  the  surface  condi- 
tions, the  character  of  the  overburden,  and  the  difficulty  of 
handling  it. 

STRATIFICATION  OF  THE  DEPOSITS. 
In  his  article  on  "South  Carolina  Phosphates" (1880)  Professor 
Shepard,  whose  long  connection  with  the  phosphate  industry  of 
the  State,  and  whose  personal  explorations  and  investigations  of 
both  its  marine  and  land  deposits,  especially,  however,  of  the 
former,  gave  him  peculiar  opportunities  of  observation  over  a 
wide  extent  of  territory,  gives  the  following  description  of  the 
mode  of  occurrence  of  the  "ordinary  superficial  beds  of  phos- 
phate—  those  now  worked." 

"A— LAND  DEPOSITS. 

I.  Soil  and  subsoil;  a  few  inches  to  a  foot  in  depth. 

II.  A  light  colored  siliceous  clay,  iron  stained  in  places,  and 
containing  much  fine,  transparent  sand,  and  minute  scales  of 
silvery  mica,  with  little  calcareous  matter — one  foot  or  more  in 
thickness. 

III.  (Wanting  in  the  more  superficial  beds.)  A  blue,  argil- 
laceous (clayey)  marl,  probably  altered  marsh  mud.  It  does 
not  adhere  to  the  tongue  or  give  an  argillaceous  odor.  Frag- 
ments of  recent  shells  occur  in  this  deposit.  Its  depth  is  about 
two  feet. 

IV.  A  thin  layer  of  coarse  sand — one  to  three  inches  in  depth. 

V.  The  phosphate  nodules,  in  either  a  loose  siliceous  or  a 
bluish  or  rich  buff  colored  argillaceous  marl,  frequently  accom- 
panied with  abundant  fossil  bones  and  teeth.  The  upper 
nodules  are  often  harder,  the   lower  softer,  and  at  some   land 


20 

localities  exhibit  a  gradual  transition,   by  loss  of  cohesion    and 
decrease  of  phosphatic  content,  into 

VI.  A  marl,  highly  phosphatic  toward  the  rock-bed  and 
occasionally  containing  twenty  to  thirty  per  centum  of  phos- 
phates, but  at  the  depth  of  a  few  inches  containing  only  ten  to 
twenty  per  centum  of  these  constituents. 

VII.  Argillaceous  or  Arenaceous  (sandy)  marls,  containing 
seven  to  ten  per  centum  of  phosphate. 

"B— RIVER  DEPOSITS. 

Beneath  the  river  deposits  occur  either: 

I.  A  gray  marl — sometimes  in  nodules  resembling  phosphate, 
with  5  per  centum  of  phosphates,  underlaid  by 

II.  A  white,  hard  marl,  enclosing  phosphatic  grains,  and 
containing  three  to  five  per  centum  of  phosphates  (Wando 
River;)  or 

I.  A  green  sand — with  some  clay,  and  rich  in  black  phos- 
phatic grains,  occurring  with  and  beneath  the  phosphatic  rock, 
containing  15  per  centum  of  phosphates  (Stono  River;)  or 

I.  Hard  marls — poor  in  phosphates  (one-half  to  one  per 
centum,)  unless  their  tops  be  coated  with  phosphate  rock 
(Coosaw  River.)" 

DOUBLE  STRATIFICATION. 

An  extremely  interesting  fact,  especially  in  connection  with 
the  question  of  the  deposition  of  the  beds,  is  the  occurrence  of 
two  superimposed  strata  of  rock. 

These  occurrences  have  been  reported  at  various  points  in  the 
phosphate  region,  but  their  area  has  been  generally  so  restricted 
that  most  of  the  observers,  practical  miners,  have  declined  to  be- 
lieve them  to  be  anything  but  parts  of  the  same  bed,  with  an 
accidental  interposition  of  clay  or  sand. 

Several  instances  that  have  come  under  the  observation  of  the 
writer  show  clearly,  in  his  opinion,  the   inaccuracy   of  this  view. 

Some  years  since,  in  examining  some  deposits  on  the  upper 
edge  of  the  Edisto  region,  two  such  instances  were  observed. 
On  one  tract  there  was  a  fairly  large  body  of  rock,  of  no  very 
great  thickness,  which  was  found  to  analyze  as  follows: 

(On  dry  basis.)  P.  C. 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 5o. 54 

Carbonate  of  lim.e 12.17 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter I9-  H 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 2.93 


21 

In  one  portion  of  the  deposit  there  occurs  at  a  few  inches 
above  the  regular  stratum,  and  separated  from  it,  if  the  recollec- 
tion of  the  writer  is  accurate,  by  a  more  or  less  sandy  clay, 
another  heavy  seam,  ten  to  eighteen  inches  in  thickness,  of  a 
hard  material  somewhat  resembling  sandstone,  which  on  analy- 
sis was  found  to  contain  : 

(On  dry  basis.)  P.  C. 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 44-97 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 31.22 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 3,01 

On  another  tract,  about  a  mile  or  so  from  the  above,  a  similar 
double  stratification  is  found,  except  that  in  the  upper  stratum 
the  excess  of  silica  is  replaced  by  carbonate  of  lime.  Unfortu- 
nately, owing  to  a  press  of  work,  no  analysis  was  made  of  this 
material. 

The  most  interesting  occurence  of  the  kind  is  found  at  the 
mines  of  the  Bolton  Mining  Company.  The  deposits  mined  by 
this  company  have  always  been  of  great  interest,  as  being  the 
most  extensively  and  highly  developed  instance  of  marsh  mining 
in  the  state.  The  rock  of  these  deposits,  while  partaking  more 
of  the  character  of  river  rock  than  of  the  land  varieties,  yet  oc- 
cupies an  intermediate  position- between  them. 

At  a  point  of  one  of  the  dredge  cuts  on  this  property  there 
occurs  a  very  clearly  defined  instance  of  a  double  seam,  extend- 
ing for  a  length  of  about  three  hundred  feet  along  the  line  of 
the  cut. 

The  average  stratification  at  this  point  may  be  stated  as  fol- 
lows: 

a.  Soil  and  mucky  marsh  mud — six  to  seven  feet. 

b.  Sand — three  feet. 

c.  Upper  rock  stratum — three  to  six  inches  in  thickness, 
lying  entirely  in  sand.  The  rock  is  solid,  nodular,  black  and 
hard,  like  Stono  River  rock.  The  nodules  vary  in  size  from 
pieces  three  to  four  inches  in  diameter  downward,  being  gener- 
ally rather  oblong  in  shape.  With  the  rock  occurs,  almost  per- 
sistently, a  little  rotten  shell,  generally  in  very  small  fragments. 

d.  Blue  sandy  clay — twelve  to  thirty-six  inches. 

e.  Lower  rock  stratum — with  an  average  thickness  of  about 
eight  inches,  entirely  embedded  in  much  sandy,  blue  clay.  The 
rock  is  generally  brown,  sometimes  black.  Some  pieces  are 
partly  brown,  and  partly  black.  It  is  not  so  hard  or  solid  as  the 
rock  of  the  upper  stratum. 


22 

It  occurs  chiefly  in  lumps  of  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter, 
and  is  very  much  perforated,  the  perforations  being  entirely 
511ed  with  the  blue  clay  of  the  bed.  At  times  these  perforations 
are  very  small  at  the  surface,  and  are  seen  only  when  the  lumps 
are  broken.  The  blue  clay  forms  more  than  half  of  the  mass 
of  the  seam. 

f.  Blue  clay — six  inches. 

g.  Marl. 

At  both  ends  of  the  three  hundred  foot  line  the  rock  strata 
come  together,  the  intervening  blue  clay  disappearing,  and  for 
more  than  a  thousand  feet,  to  the  end  of  the  present  cut,  the 
upper  black  stratum,  with  the  slight  intermixture  of  rotten 
shell,  lies  immediately  on  top  of  the  lower  stratum,  the  differ- 
ence in  physical  appearance  of  the  two  being  distinctly  visible. 

Apparently  the  lower  stratum  was  first  deposited  in  a  shallow 
basin,  its  surface  following  more  or  less  that  of  the  marl  and 
clay  beneath.  The  depression,  or  shallow  basin,  thus  formed 
was  filled  with  blue  clay,  the  thickness  of  which  varied  with  the 
depth  of  the  basin,  the  edges  of  which  were  left  uncovered.  Thus, 
when  the  upper  seam  was  deposited,  while  separated  from  the 
lower,  within  the  area  of  the  basin,  by  more  or  less  mud,  it  was 
in  immediate  contact  with  the  lower  stratum  at  the  edges. 

The  following  analyses  of  the  rock  from  the  upper  and  lower 
strata  are  of  interest  in  showing  the  difference  in  character  of 
the  material,  at  least  at  one  point  of  the  occurrence,  and  as  an 
evidence  of  the  dual  nature  of  the  deposits.  The  samples  were 
carefully  hand  washed  and  dried  before  analysis.  In  the  case 
of  the  rock  from  the  lower  stratum,  the  permeation  of  the  lumps 
by  the  clay  made  it  necessary  to  break  them  into  comparatively 
small  pieces,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  latter,  this  being  neces- 
sary to  show  the  character  of  the  rock  material  proper. 

(On  Dry  Basis.) 

Upper  Lower 

Stratum.  Stratum. 

P.  C.  P.  C. 

Carbonic  acid 4.39  4.45 

Carbonate  of  lime 9.98  10  i  J 

Phosphoric  acid , 27.80  26.;; 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime.  ...    , ,      60.71  5^-47 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 10.46  12.68 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 1.75  ^-7^ 


23 

MARL  UNDER  LOWER  STRATUM. 

(On  dry  basis.) 

P.  C. 

Carbonic  acid 30.20 

Carbonate  of  lime , 68.64 

Phosphoric  acid 4. 5 1 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 9.84 

Sand  and  insoluble  matter 12.88 

The  rock  of  the  upper  stratum  is  exceptionally  hifjh  in  bone 
phosphate  of  lime,  the  quality  of  the  lower  stratum  being  as 
high  as,  if  not  higher  than,  the  average  of  the  best  class  of  rock 
of  this  locality. 

The  mode  of  occurrence  and  the  differences,  both  chemical 
and  physical,  between  the  two  strata,  as  shown  above,  seem  to 
point  conclusively  to  an  entirely  separate  deposition  of  the  two 
seams,  and  to  go  far  towards  settling  what  has  long  been,  as  has 
been  said,  a  much  mooted  question. 

Similar  instances  are  said  to  occur,  though  not  to  the  same 
extent,  at  the  old  Wando  Mines,  near  Bee's  Ferry,  and  on  the 
adjoining  property  of  the  Charleston  Mining  Company,  but  it 
has  not  been  feasible  to  secure  information  in  regard  thereto 
sufficiently  detailed  to  permit  description. 

GEOLOGICAL  FORMATIONS  OF  THE  CHARLESTON 

BASIN. 

The  calcareous  strata  of  the  Charleston  basin,  as  outlined  by 
Professor  M.  Tuomey,  occur  in  an  irregular  area  about  seventy- 
five  miles  long  and  sixty  miles  wide,  extending  from  the  Santee 
River  to  the  Ashepoo,  and  embracing  within  its  limits  the  land 
phosphate  deposits  of  the  State. 

The  geological  history  of  this  basin  has  been  carefully  and 
fully  treated,  first  by  Professor  Tuomey,  (Report  on  the  Geology 
of  South  Carolina,"  Columbia,  1846),  and  afterward  by  Professor 
Francis  S.  Holmes,  ("The  Phosphate  Rocks  of  South  Carolina," 
Charleston,  1870),  their  conclusions  being  based  on  their  studies 
of  the  various  formations  of  the  basin,  with  the  fossils  occuring 
therein,  and  in  the  case  of  Professor  Holmes,  on  the  observations 
made  during  the  boring  of  the  old  artesian  well  (Wentworth 
Street)  in  Charleston,  which  was  commenced  ini846  and  ulti- 
mately carried  to  a  depth  of  1,260  feet. 

Artesian  wells  subsequently  sunk,  one  in  1872  to  a  depth  of 
323  feet  at  Sineath's  Station,  thirteen  miles  from  Charleston, 
and  the  other  in  1876  in  Charleston  (Citadel  Green),  and  carried 


24 

to  a  depth  of  1,970  feet,  were  both  carefully  studied,  and  have 
afforded  valuable  information  as  to  the  extent  and  occurrence  of 
the  several  formations. 

The  results  of  the  various  observations  may  be  briefly  sum- 
marized, as  follows: 

The  lowest  formation  so  far  reached  is  the  Cretaceous.  The 
marls  and  limestones  of  this  formation  outcrop  on  the  Pee-Dee 
River,  but  (according  to  Holmes)  were  reached  in  the  Wentworth 
Street  well  at  a  depth  of  8(X)  feet. 

According  to  Professor  James  Hall,  of  the  New  York  State  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History,  to  whom  the  material  obtained  from  the 
Citadel  Green  well  was  submitted  for  study  and  identification, 
the  Cretaceous  is  reached  at  600  feet  below  the  surface,  extend- 
ing continuously  from  that  point  to  the  bottom  of  the  well,  a 
distance  of  nearly  fourteen  hundred  feet. 

While  the  marls  of  this  formation,  of  a  dark  bluish  gray  color, 
contain  only  from  30  to  40  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  the 
limestones  are  much  richer,  having  from  60  to  75  per  cent,  of  this 
constituent. 

Immediately  above  the  Cretaceous  lies  the  Eocene,  called  by 
Ruffin,  on  account  of  its  thickness  and  richness,  "the  great  Caro- 
linian marl  bed."  Its  thickness  was  estimated  by  Holmes  to  be 
seven  hundred  feet,  based  on  old  well,  but  the  results  of  the 
new  well  would  indicate  this  estimate  to  be  too  high,  the  true 
thickness  at  that  point  being  some  five  hundred  feet.  It  is  sub- 
divided into  the  Santee,  Cooper  and  Ashley  marl  beds. 

The  oldest  and  lowest  of  these  are  the  Santee,  composed 
principally  of  hard  shells  and  corals  or  corallines  forming 
Tuomey's  "coralline  bed  of  the  Charleston  basin."  The  marls 
of  this  group,  white  in  color  when  dried,  are  of  very  high  grade, 
containing  in  some  cases  as  much  as  97  percent,  of  carbonate 
of  lime,  but  averaging  94  per  cent,  of  this  ingredient. 

The  marls  of  the  Cooper  River  beds,  next  in  age  to  the  Santee 
beds  and  lying  above  them,  are  harder  than  those  of  the  Ashley 
beds,  beneath  which  they  occur,  and  richer  in  carbonate  of  lime, 
the  amount  of  which  varies  from  42  per  cent,  to  95  per  cent,  in 
different  varieties.  As  might  be  expected,  however,  they  are 
poorer  in  bone  phosphate  of  lime,  of  which  they  contain  only 
from  a  trace  to  one  and  one-half  per  cent.      (Tuomey,   p.  236.) 

The  Ashley  beds  were  estimated  by  Professor  Holmes  to  be 
about  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet  thick.  The  marls  composing 
them  have  from  36  to  'j6  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  but 
contain  from  6  to  9  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime. 


25 

The  fossils  of  the  Cooper  and  Ashley  marl  beds  consist  chiefly 
of  remains  of  "cartilaginous  fish,  especially  ot  the  shark  family, 
though  they  also  contain  numerous  bones  and  teeth  of  cetaceans 
or  whaie-like  animals."  (Holmes,  p.  19.)  Above  the  marl  lie 
thin  strata  of  sand  and  blue  clay  containing  many  fossil  sharks' 
teeth  and  bones  of  cetaceans,  forming  what  is  known  as  "the 
Ashley  fish  bed." 

Next  in  order  come  the  Post-Pleiocene  sands  and  the  strata 
containing  the  phosphate  nodules  and,  above  these,  clay,  sand 
and  alluvial  deposits. 

The  phosphate  deposits,  from  the  identity  of  their  fossil  re- 
mains with  those  of  the  subjacent  marl,  were  considered  by 
Tuomey,  to  whom  they  presented  themselves  as  "marl  stones," 
as  being  of  the  same  formation  as  the  latter,  (pp.  164,  165,) 
but  after  subsequent  study,  in  the  light  of  the  development  of 
scientific  knowledge,  they  were  located  by  Professor  Holmes  in 
the  Post-Pleiocene  age. 

This,  however,  is  not  the  only  horizon  showing  phosphatic 
stones.  One  specimen  taken  from  the  depth  of  1,840  feet  in  the 
Citadel  Green  well  contained  64.88  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of 
lime^  5.68  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  2.62  per  cent,  of 
sand  and  insoluble  matter. 

In  the  Sineath's  Station  well  this  occurrence  was  more  fre- 
quent. Speaking  of  it,  Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard,  Jr., 
(Rural  Carolinian,  August,  1873,)  says: 

"Phosphate  of  lime  to  the  amount  of  50  percent,  more  or 
less,  occurs  in  layers  of  large  nodules  at  the  depth  of  26,  70  and 
no  feet ;  and  in  pebbles  at  280  and  312  feet;  to  the  amount  of  30 
per  cent,  in  comparatively  large  nodules  at  104  and  125  feet,  of 
over  5  per  cent,  in  the  upper  layers  of  marl,  gradually  diminish- 
ing in  amount  with  the  increasing  depth,  until  present  only  in 
traces  in  the  stratum  superior  to  that  containing  phosphatic 
pebbles  (280  feet.)  At  greater  depths  than  280  feet  the  amount 
of  phosphate  appears  to  coincide  with  the  greater  or  less  per 
centage  of  the  black  phosphatic  grains." 

The  table  of  analytical  results  accompanying  this  article  is  of 
great  interest,  and  the  Journal  in  which  it  appeared  being  gen- 
erally inaccessible,  it  is  reproduced  here: 


^^ 


Depth  of 
stratum. 


Character  of 
each  stratum. 


o  o 


<-.  o 
Ed 


.2'S 

B 

.5 

3  03.5 

5 

i 

<yo^ 

o 

w 

H 

S 

CO 


ft. 

17    to  20 
26    to3<) 

do 
34 
46 
70 


104 

110  to  112 

do 
125  to  128 

do 
145 
170 
228 

256 

280 

286 

287  to  290 

300  to  305 

305  to  306 

307 

309  to  311 

312  to  313 

do 
315  to  316 
321  to  822 
323 


Clay  . .  .   

Phosphatic  nodules 

Marl 

Marl 

Argrillaceous  marl  

Phosphatic  nodules 

Argillaceous  marl 

Argillaceous  marl  —     . . 

Phosphatic  nodules  

Phosphatic  nodules 

Argillaceous  marl**    — 
Phosphatic  nodules 

Hard  marl 

Argillaceous  marl 

Argillaceous  marl 

Argillaceous  marl 

Argillaceous  marl .  

Phosphatic  pebbles..  .  . 

ArKillaceouR  marl 

Marl  and  phosph.  grains. 

Argillaceous  marl 

Sandy  marl 

Sandy  marl 

Hard  marl 

Phosphatic  pebbles 

Hard  pebbly  marl 

Sandy  limestone 

Firm  limestone...  ., 

Sandy  limestone 


P.O. 

p.  c. 

0.42 

0.92 

26.79 

58.48 

3.07 

6.70 

3.01 

6.57 

2.03 

4.43 

2272 

49. 5» 

1.26 

2  74 

1.51 

3.30 

13.38 

29.20 

23  60 

51.52 

10.65 

23  24 

15.81 

34.91 

1.23 

2.68 

traces 

traces 

traces 

traces  -j 

23.47 

49.05 

0.60 

1.31 

5.96 

13.01 

3.37 

7.37 

0.90 

1.96 

0.80 

1.75 

0.63 

1  37 

27.72 

60.52 

2  47 

5.39 

1.02 

2.22 

0.95 

2.07 

1.05 

2.29 

p.  c. 

4.73 

4.00 
26.46 
26.64 
24.55 

2.70 
24.78 
24  20 
17.30 

2.53 
15.67 
13.95 
14.79 
16.87 
22.74 
23  54 
22.22 
21.26 

3.80 
27.63 

18.18 
20.23 
13.93 
19.39 
3.85 
12.46 
21.62 
25.42 
18.00 


p.  c. 
10  75 

9. 
60.14 
60.54 
55.79 

6.14 
56.32 
55.00 
39. 

5. 
44.70 
31.70 
33.61 
38.34 
51.68 
53.50 
50  50 
48.32 

8.66 

62.79 

* 

41,32 
45.98 
31.66 
44.06 
8.75 
28  32 
49  13 
57.77 
40.91 


p.c. 

p.  0. 

♦ 

* 

* 

39.90 

0.75 

* 

* 

41.99 

0.99 

34.02 

traces 

33.76 

0.56 

* 

* 

42.08 

1.09 

35.82 

0.25 

43.52 

traces 

41.82 

0.7? 

* 

* 

23.70 

* 

36.59 

traces 

* 

* 

35.68 

♦ 

34.86 

0.37 

35.94 

traces 

40.52 

* 

27.44 

2.95 

37.35 

traces 

30.48 

traces 

21.99 

* 

30.36 

1.05 

43.42 

traces 

27.90 

traces 

35.16 

traces 

39.23 

traces 

27.84 

traces 

70.00 
4.82 
18.92 
17.13 
14.21 
27  19 
21.14 
13.77 
12.61 
23.26 
15.04 
15.14 
46.14 
31.50 
24.48 
27.32 
26.03  J 
27.06 f 
14.48 
18.16 
26.19 
16.00 
43.55 
56.17 
41.09 
4.69 
52.28 
30.81 
25.94 
45.80 


♦Undftermined. 


"^Including  phosphatic  nodules. 


The  interest  of  these  phosphatic  occurrences  lies,  of  course, 
in  their  bearing  on  the  mode  of  formation  of  the  main  super- 
ficial deposits,  which  are  the  only  ones  yet  discovered  of  extent 
or  value.  ^ 

ORIGIN    AND    MODE  OF  FORMATION  OF  THE  PHOS- 
PHATE BEDS. 

It  is  apart  from  the  purpose  of  this  paper,  even  if  its  limits 
permitted,  to  discuss  the  various  interesting  theories  that  have 
been  propounded  by  distinguished  scientists  in  explanation  of 
the  origin  and  mode  of  formation  of  the  phosphate  beds. 

With  the  large  uncertainty  always  accompanying  speculations 
of  this  character,  also,  it  would  be  the  height  of  rashness  to  assert 
any  one  of  them  as  absolutely  true  and  to  reject  the  others,  and 
the  writer  has  no  such  purpose. 

It  may  be  of  interest,  however,  to  make  a  short  presentation 
of  what  seems  to  him  to  have  been  the  probable  course  of  events, 
or  rather  the  one  appearing  to  agree  most  closely  with  the  fol- 
lowing more  important  facts  of  the  case,  as  they  present  them- 
selves. 


2t 

The  internal  structure  of  the  nodules  and  the  fossils  embedded 
therein,  as  distinguished  from  those  merely  intermingled  with 
them,  are  identical  with  those  of  the  Eocene  marl. 

In  the  land  deposits,  in  the  strata  composed  of  the  phosphatic 
nodules,  the  sands  and  clays  or  argillaceous  marls,  and  main  marl 
bed  beneath  them,  the  content  of  phosphoric  acid  has  been 
shown  to  diminish  from  the  top  downward. 

In  the  river  deposits,  the  clays,  etc.,  between  the  rock  and 
marl  are  absent,  and  in  some  of  them,  like  those  of  Coosaw  and 
Bull  Rivers,  the  marl  has  only  a  very  small  content  of  phosphate  of 
lime,  while  that  under  Stono  River,  on  the  other  hand,  is  like 
the  land  deposits  in  this  particular. 

While,  as  has  been  stated,  the  presence  of  phosphatic  material 
has  been  shown  at  great  depths  under  the  surface,  the  indications 
are  that  such  deposits  or  layers  are  of  very  slight  extent,  as,  in- 
deed, would  be  expected  from  the  comparatively  small  amounts 
of  phosphoric  acid  occurring  in  the  marl  at  those  depths. 

The  factors  necessary  for  the  formation  of  phosphatic  nodules 
or  lumps  are  a  material  containing  phosphate  of  lime,  usually  and 
probably  a  marl  or  limestone  with  a  greater  or  less  content  of 
phosphoric  acid,  and  an  abundant  supply  of  water,  carrying  in 
solution  carbonic  acid  gas.  to  act  as  a  solvent  and  carrier  of  the 
carbonate  and  phosphate  of  lime.  Both  of  these  factors  are,  and 
doubtless  always  were,  abundantly  present  in  the  Charleston 
basin.  The  marls  under  the  land  deposits  always  contain  from 
5  to  9  or  10  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime  near  the  surface,  and  a 
persistent  though  gradually  diminishing  quantity  as  the  depth 
increases,  derived,  probably,  from  the  vast  number  of  great  fishes 
that  swarmed  in  the  Eocene  ocean. 

The  solvent  powers  of  water  containing  free  carbonic  acid, 
when  acting  on  carbonate  or  phosphate  of  lime,  are  well  known. 
While  this  action  is  very  much  increased,  at  higher  pressures,  on 
account  of  the  larger  amount  of  carbonic  acid  gas  absorbed  under 
such  conditions,  it  has  been  shown  by  Bischof  that,  even  at  the 
ordinary  atmospheric  pressure,  the  surface  waters  of  the  earth 
contain  five  times  as  much  carbonic  acid  as  is  necessary  to  hold 
in  solution  their  normal  contents  of  lime,  and  have  therefore  an 
ample  excess  to  permit  a  considerable  solvent  action  both  on  car- 
bonate and  phosphate  of  lime.  The  action  of  such  waters,  also, 
on  phosphate  of  lime,  while  very  much  less  than  on  the  carbonate, 
is  very  much  increased  by  the  presence  of  chloride  of  sodium 
(common  salt),  a  salt  which  is  not  only  an  important  constituent 
of  sea  water,  but  one  of  frequent  occurrence  in  surface  waters  in 


28 

general. 

In  a  conspicuous  degree  are  the  requirements  of  the  case  met 
by  the  subterranean  waters  of  the  Charleston  basin. 

At  all  depths,  from  the  1,970  feet  of  the  new  artesi.^n  well 
and  the  1,260  feet  of  the  Wentworth  Street  well  to  the  numer- 
ous 300  to  400  foot  wells  that  dot  the  vicinity  of  Charleston,  there 
are  present,  besides  considerable  amounts  of  bicarbonates  and 
chlorides,  important  quantities  of  free  carbonic  acid  gas  in  solu- 
tion. The  superficial  soil  waters  also,  in  swampy  localities, 
carry  in  solution  notable  amounts  of  organic  acids  derived  from 
the  decomposition  of  the  residues  of  the  more  or  less  abundant, 
not  to  say  luxuriant  vegetation. 

It  seems  probable  that  the  upper  portions  of  the  comparatively 
soft  marl,  weakened  doubtless  by  the  perforations  of  marine 
boring  animals,  were  torn  away  from  the  parent  bed  by  various 
natural  agencies,  chiefly,  no  doubt,  by  the  tidal  action  of  the 
Eocene  ocean,  and  broken  into  fragments  of  various  shapes  and 
sizes  which  were  ultimately  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  solvent 
waters. 

The  continued  action  of  these  waters  removed  from  the  marl 
fragments  the  greater  part  of  their  carbonate  of  lime,  together 
with  a  much  smaller  proportion  of  their  phosphate,  leaving  be- 
hind the  bulk  of  the  phosphate,  the  insoluble  matter  of  the 
original  mass  and  varying  amounts  of  carbonate.  As  the  waters 
became  saturated  with  the  dissolved  phosphate,  it  is  probable 
that  diminutions  of  temperature  or  pressure,  assisted  by  the 
well  known  tendency  of  phosphate  of  lime  to  concentrate, 
caused  a  deposition  thereof  in  the  residual  masses,  replacing  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent  the  carbonate  that  had  been  lost.  It  is 
also  practically  certain  that  subterranean  waters,  which  on  es- 
caping to  the  surface  could  not  retain  all  the  phosphate  taken 
up  at  the  higher  pressures  of  lower  depths,  were  of  material 
assistance  in  the  process  of  phosphatization.  The  perforation  of 
the  fragments,  by  offering  a  greater  surface  to  the  solvent,  no 
doubt  greatly  facilitated  its  action. 

The  nodules  were  not  formed  in  the  positions  in  which  they 
are  now  found,  else  they  would  probably  lie  directly  on  the 
parent  marl.  After  formation,  they  were  caught  up  and  trans- 
ported by  the  agency  of  the  enormous  tides  of  the  Post-Pleiocene 
seas  and  deposited  in  valleys,  hollows  or  old  waterways,  in  which 
the  marl  bed  had  been  covered  by  the  clays  and  sands  of  a  sub- 
sequent age. 


29 

It  seems  almost  certain  that,  this  transportation  having  been 
effected  and  the  nodules  collected  in  their  final  resting  places,  a 
secondary  action  took  place;  that  phosphate  of  lime  in  solution 
in  soil  waters  was  deposited  therefrom  and,  penetrating  only 
the  outer  portions  of  the  nodules,  increased  the  phosphatic  con- 
tent of  those  parts. 

It  is  true  that  the  same  enrichment  could  have  been  produced 
by  a  more  energetic  action  of  the  solvent  waters  on  the  outer 
portions  of  the  nodules  and  that  the  cores,  or  interior  portions, 
having  been  less  exposed  to  such  action,  would  have  had  a  smaller 
proportion  of  their  carbonate  of  lime  replaced  by  phosphate, 
and  doubtless  this  cause  did  operate  to  some  extent. 

The  enrichment  of  the  phosphoric  acid  content  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  deposits,  however,  and  more  especially  the  cementa- 
tion of  the  nodules  into  continous  sheets,  could  only  have 
been  the  result  of  some  secondary  phosphatization,  which  must 
have  taken  place  after  the  final  location  had  been  effected. 

To  this  or  some  similar  anterior  action  are  possibly  due  the 
phosphoric  acid  of  the  strata  between  the  phosphate  beds  and 
the  marl  and  the  increased  percentage  of  the  same  constituent 
in  the  upper  portion  of  the  marl  bed,  to  which  attention  has 
been  called. 

It  may  be  well  to  notice  the  fact  that  the  source  of  the  phos- 
phoric acid  of  the  nodules  has  been  sought  elsewhere  than  in 
the  phosphatic  Eocene  marls,  notably  in  the  accumulated 
remains  of  animal  life,  on  account  of  the  large  number  of  fossil 
bones  and  teeth  intermingled  with  the  nodules,  though  not  in- 
corporated with  them. 

To  the  general  consideration  that,  where  there  is  an  immediate 
and  obvious  source  of  supply,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  seek  for 
one  that  is  remote,  must  be  added  the  very  striking  fact  that 
these  very  fossil  bones  have  been  preserved  because  they  them- 
selves have  undergone  enrichment  by  phosphatization  and,  in- 
stead of  having  been  the  source  of  the  enriching  agent,  have 
been  subjected  to  its  action. 

The  absence,  in  Coosaw  and  other  rivers,  of  the  beds  of  clay 
and  similar  material  found  between  the  rock  and  marl  of  the 
land  deposits  might  seem  to  indicate  a  formation  in  situ.  But 
the  practical  absence  of  phosphoric  acid  in  the  marl  beneath, 
and  the  occurrence  of  lumps  consisting  partly  of  rock  and  partly 
of  unaltered  marl,  containing  over  lo  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of 
lime  show  that  this  was  not  the  case,  but  that  the  material  was 
washed  down  from  the  place  of  formation. 


30 


The  highly  polished  nodules,  sometimes  observed,  owe  their 
lustre,  no  doubt,  to  the  great  attrition  of  the  original  transpor- 
tation, enhanced,  possibly,  by  the  hardening  effects  of  the  sec- 
ondary phosphatization. 

To  what  the  usually  darker  color  of  the  river  rock  is  due,  it 
is  impossible  to  state  with  certainty.  The  conditions  of  deposit 
in  the  double  seam  at  Bolton  mines,  where  the  rock  of  the  upper 
stratum  appears  to  be  identical  with  that  found  in  Stono  River, 
near-by,  might  be  taken  to  indicate  that,  in  some  cases  at  least, 
the  river  deposits  were  formed  after  the  land  deposits,  and  it  is 
possible,  that  having  been  subjected,  under  changed  conditions, 
to  the  action  of  waters  more  highly  charged  with  vegetable  mat> 
ter,  they  derived  their  deeper  color  from  a  larger  deposition  of 
carbonaceous  material,  a  substance  which,  in  point  of  fact,  is 
generally  found  in  greater  quantity  in  river  rock  than  in  that 
from  the  land  deposits. 

IS   THE  PHOSPHATIZATION   PROCESS   STILL 

GOING  ON? 

The  factors  necessary  for  the  formation  of  phosphate  rock, 
pointed  out  above,  being  still  present  in  the  swamps  and  waters 
of  the  state,  though  to  a  much  smaller  extent,  of  course,  than 
at  the  time  of  the  main  deposition  of  the  beds,  and  probably 
having  always  been  so,  it  is  a  natural  assumption  that  the  pro- 
cess of  phosphatization  has  been  more  or  less  continuous  to  the 
present  day. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case,  however,  it  has  been  difficult  to 
secure  conclusive  evidence  of  the  recent  continuance  of  this 
growth,  as  it  has  been  called. 

Specimen  lumps  consisting  partly  of  unaltered  marl  and 
partly  of  phosphate  rock,  and  other  lumps  appearing  to  occupy 
a  position  between  the  two  have  been  cited  in  evidence,  but  ap- 
pearing to  be  snsceptible  of  possible  explanation  on  other  grounds, 
they  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  conclusive. 

Various  objects,  also,  of  human  manufacture,  found  in  the 
bed,  with  small  adhering  masses  of  phosphate,  have  also 
lacked  conclusiveness,  the  articles  not  being  imbedded  in  the 
phosphate,  so  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  learn,  and  the 
adhesive  process  having  possibly  and  probably  been  merely  one 
of  cementation. 

Especial  interest,  therefore,  attaches  to  a  specimen  dredged, 
in  February  last  (1904),  from  the  bed  of   Stono    River,  opposite 


31 

Bolton   Mines,  by    Dredge    No.    i,    Captain    John    May,    of   the 
Stono  Mining  Company. 

The  article  in  question,  which  lay  under  eight  feet  of  sand, 
is  an  iron  hook  about  five  inches  long,  in  a  fine  state  of  preser- 
vation, though  of  course  highly  oxidized,  around  the  shank  of 
which  is  a  continuous  ring  of  phosphate  rock. 


IRON  HOOK  WITH  RING  OF  PHOSPHATE  ROCK. 

Both  the  hook  and  the  phosphatic  mass  surrounding  it  are 
clearly  shown    in  the  accompanying  photographic  reproduction. 

It  would  appear  that  falling  overboard  from  some  vessel,  or 
perhaps  forming  part  of  some  anchor  chain,  the  hook  penetrated 
the  soft  marl,  which  was  subsequently  phosphatized,  with  the 
result  shown. 

To  avoid  the  unavoidable  risk  of  injuring  the  specimen,  only 
a  small  fragment  has  been  removed,  sufificient  to  verify  its  phos- 
phatic character,  but  not  for  quantitative  determination. 

PHOSPHORIC  ACID  AND  PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME. 

While  the  general  question  of  manures,  particularly  in  respect 
to  the  use  and  importance  of  their  several  constituent  elements 
of  plant  food,  manifestly  lies  without  the  scope  of  this  article, 
it  seems  desirable  to  point  out  two  facts  which  give  pre-eminent 
importance  to  phosphatic  manures  and,  therefore,  to  the  raw 
materials  of  their  manufacture. 


32 

These  facts  are,  first,  the  comparatively  scanty  occurrence 
and  more  or  less  unavailable  condition  of  phosphoric  acid  in  the 
soil;  and,  second,  and  the  more  important  of  the  two,  that, 
unlike  the  more  costly  nitrogen,  it  cannot  be  derived  with 
greater  or  less  facility  from  the  atmosphere,  but  that  its  re- 
moval from  the  soil  can  be  compensated  only  by  the  addition  of 
more  or  less  expensive  phosphatic  manures. 

While  in  this  last  respect  it  resembles  potash,  a  much  smaller 
addition  of  the  latter  is  usually  required  for  crop  nutrition,  and 
its  role  is  consequently  less  conspicuous. 

The  history  of  phosphoric  acid  is  remarkable  for  its  compara- 
tively modern  character  and  recent  development;  and  this  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  its  principle  elementary  constituent  was 
separated  from  its  salts  and  recognized  almost  a  century  and  a 
half  before  its  own  nature  was  discovered,  and  still  longer  before 
its  general  occurrence  and  great  importance  in  the  economy  of 
nature  were  made  manifest. 

It  was  not  until  about  the  year  1669,  that  Brand,  a  bankrupt 
Hamburg  merchant^  while  searching  for  the  philosopher's  stone, 
separated  from  human  urine  a  substance  to  which,  from  its 
striking  property  of  luminosity  in  darkness,  he  gave  the  name 
of  phosphorus,  "light  bringer." 

Though  the  remarkable  properties  of  the  newly  discovered 
substartce  naturally  attracted  great  attention  among  the  scien- 
tists of  the  day,  its  method  of  separation  remained  a  secret  until 
it  was  rediscovered  by  Kunkel,  of  Rendsberg,  whom  Meyn  (in 
his  valuable  monograph  on  natural  phosphates,  which  has  been 
freely  followed  in  this  connection),  describes  as  the  '*  first  great, 
really  practically  chemist." 

In  1688,  nineteen  years  later,  phosphorus  was  found  in 
mustard  seed  by  Albinus,  and  its  presence  thus  shown  in  vege- 
table life  as  well  as  in  the  animal  organism. 

The  backward  condition  of  chemical  knowledge  and  experi- 
mental processes  probably  accounts  for  the  fact  that,  while  the 
new  substance  continued  to  attract  great  interest  as  a  sort  of 
scientific  toy,  its  discovery  remained  otherwise  barren  of  results. 

As  phosphorus,  on  exposure  to  air,  is  converted  by  oxidation 
into  phosphoric  acid,  escaping  under  the  form  of  dense  white 
fumes,  the  discovery  of  the  latter  was  necessarily  coincident 
with  that  of  the  former. 

The  relationship  between  the  two,  however,  does  not  seem  to 
have  suggested  itself,  the  fumes  being  supposed  to  consist  of  a 
mixture  of  vitroil  and  muriatic  acid. 


33 

This  decidedly  hazy  view  subsisted  until  1743,  when  the  true 
nature  of  the  presumed  mixture  was  discovered  and  phosphoric 
acid  was  identified  as  such. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  later  the  next  great  step  towards 
modern  manuring  was  made  by  Gahn,  a  Swede,  in  his  discovery 
of  the  occurrence  of  phosphoric  acid  in  bones,  and  its  subse- 
quent recognition  as  a  common  and  indispensable  constituent 
of  all  more  highly  organized  animal  life. 

About  1780,  Gahn  discovered  the  presence  of  phosphoric  acid 
in  the  mineral  kingdom  in  a  specimen  of  phosphate  of  lead,  and 
shortly  afterwards  Klaproth  and  Vanquelin  showed  several  dif- 
ferent varieties  of  apatite  to  be  composed  of  the  same  phospliate 
of  lime  as  that  which  forms  the  earthy  constituent  of  bones. 

*'These,"  says  Meyn,*'  are  the  plain  but  significant  com- 
mencements of  the  chemical  discoveries  as  to  the  presence  of 
phosphorus  in  animals,  plants  and  minerals.  None  of  the  dis- 
interested naturalists  to  whom  we  are  indebted  therefor  antici- 
pated, or  could  then  anticipate,  how  boundlessly  important 
these  facts  were  to  prove  to  their  successors  for  the  comprehen- 
sion of  nature."  He  might  well  have  added  "and  to  mankin'd 
at  large  for  its  welfare  and  preservation." 

When  the  nineteenth  century  dawned,  no  great  progress  had 
been  made  in  the  development  of  phosphatic  manures.  Al- 
though the  use  of  bones  as  manures  had  been  begun  about  the 
middle  of  the  previous  century  and  had  been  continually  in- 
creasing, their  fertilizing  value  was  ascribed  to  other  consti- 
tuents than  the  phosphate  of  lime,  to  the  gelatine  and  grease. 

Th.  DeSaussure,  in  1804,  again  called  attention  to  the  presence 
of  phosphate  of  lime  in  animals,  and  to  the  fact  that  no  one 
doubted  that  this  salt  was  an  essential  constituent  of  bones. 
He  also  announced  that  he  had  found  the  same  salt  in  the  ashes 
of  all  vegetables  he  had  examined  therefor,  and  was  of  opinion 
that  there  was  no  reason  for  supposing  that  they  could  exist 
without  it. 

The  use  of  bones  increased  very  rapidly,  especially  in  Eng- 
land. To  such  an  extent  was  this  the  case  that,  in  1822,  more 
than  33,000  tons  derived,  it  is  said,  "mostly  from  the  battle- 
fields of  the  late  wars,"  were  imported  into  that  country  from 
Germany  alone.  So  great  was  the  demand  that  even  catacombs, 
it  is  stated,  were  robbed  to  meet  it.  In  1859,  the  importation 
into  Great  Britian  had  become  84,820  tons. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  accumulation  of  analytical  evidence  was 
bringing  about  the  conviction    that    the    invariable   presence    of 


34 

various  salts  in  the  ashes  of  plants  was  more  than  accidental, 
and  that  they  were  necessary  to  a  proper  development  of  the 
organism. 

When  Justus  Von  Liebig  showed  this  in  1840,  and  recom- 
mended the  use  of  sulphuric  acid  as  a  solvent  for  the  phosphate 
of  lime  in  bones,  to  render  it  available  for  plant  food,  the  final 
step  was  taken  to  the  introduction  of  the  present  system  of  artifi- 
cial manures. 

DISCOVERY  AND  USE  OF    MINERAL  PHOSPHATES. 

In  1818  Berthier  had  shown  the  presence  of  phosphate  of 
lime  in  nodular  form  at  several  localities  in  France,  a  discovery 
soon  followed  by  similar  ones  in  England. 

The  successful  application  of  sulphuric  acid  to  bones  at  once 
suggested  the  possible  utilization  of  these  mineral  phosphates 
by  the  same  process. 

The  first  mixture  of  this  kind  was  made,  in  1841,  by  a  Mr. 
Fleming,  of  Barrochan,  England,  who  used  English  coprolites, 
mixing  them  with  acid  on  his  barn  floor. 

Experiments  with  material  made  in  this  way  were  so  success- 
ful that  its  use  grew  rapidly  and  the  fertilizer  industry,  as 
now  known,  was  inaugurated  by  the  erection  of  a  factory  for 
its  manufacture  by  J.  B.  Lawes,  afterward  knighted  for  his 
great  and  invaluable  services  to  humanity  as  an  agricultural  in 
vestigator. 

THE  FIRST  STEPS  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

In  South  Carolina,  in  the  meanwhile,  the  need  of  fertilizers 
had  made  itself  felt,  and  steps  had  been  taken  towards  meet- 
ing it. 

In  1842,  the  services  of  Edmund  Rufifin,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
were  secured  for  an  agricultural  survey  of  the  State,  and  his 
report,  made  in  1843,  was  devoted  chiefly  to  its  marl  and  lime- 
stone deposits.  These  he  describes  at  great  length,  but,  as  re- 
gards their  composition,  confines  himself  to  stating  the  percent- 
ages of  carbonate  of  lime,  in  his  opinion  the  only  constituent  of 
any  agricultural  value. 

In  his  examination  of  the  Ashley  River  marls  the  phosphatic 
strata  did  not  escape  his  observation,  for  in  his  description  of 
these  beds  he  mentions  **lumps  of  stony  hardness,  full  of  im- 
pressions of  shells,  found  in  great  quantity  in  the  neighbor- 
hood," a  few  feet  above  the  marl,  that  contained  6  per  cent,  of 
carbonate  of  lime. 


35 

The  stony  lumps  were  undoubtedly  phosphate  nodules,  the 
Brisbane  place  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Ruffin  ("J.  S.  Brisbane's  land- 
iny,  nine  miles  above  Charleston,")  having  been  either  just 
above  or  below  Bee's  Ferry,  the  property  in  question  ex- 
tending at  that  time  on  both  sides  of  the  ferry,  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Ashley. 


Edmund  Ruffin, 

Resigning  at  the  end  of  the  year,  Mr.  Ruffin  was  succeeded 
by  Professor  M.  Tuomey.  A  part  of  the  latter's  report,  dated 
November,  1846,  is  devoted  to  the  calcareous  manures  of  the 
State,  but,  besides  giving  the  quantities  of  carbonate  of  lime  in 
the  various  marls,  he  calls  attention  to  the  presence  of  phosphate 
of  lime  therein,  the  discovery  of  which  he  credits  to  Professor 
C.  U.  Shepard,  Sr.,  and  to  Doctor  J.  Lawrence  Smith,  a  pupil 
of  Professor  Shepard. 

He  presents  detailed  analyses  of  the  Ashley  River  marls,  made 
by  Professor  Shepard,  in  all  of  which  the  presence  of  the  phos- 
phate of  lime  is  shown. 

In  describing  the  Ashley  beds  Professor  Tuomey  says, 
(p.  164)  : 

"In  ascending  the  Ashley,  from  Charleston,  marl  is  first  seen 
at  Bee's  Ferry,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  below  high  water 
level.  Both  here  and  elsewhere,  on  the  river,  it  is  exceedingly 
uniform  in  structure  and  internal  appearance,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  about  two  or  three  feet  of  the  surface,  which  is  composed 


36 

of  irregular  and  waterworn  fragments  of  marl  stone,  embedded 
in  clay,  and  containing  numerous  fossils,  in  the  state  of  casts. 
These  fragments  are  scattered  over  the  surface,  so  as,  in  some 
places,  to  offer  obstruction  to  the  cultivation  of  the  land.  On 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Hanckel's  plantation  I  had  good  opportunity  of 
examining  these  fragments;  and  at  Drayton  Hall  they  have  been 
gathered  from  the  lawn  and  thrown  into  heaps." 

Professor  Tuomey  goes  on  to  state  that,  though  at  first  dis- 
posed to  refer  these  fragments  to  a  different  formation  from  the 
underlying  marl,  he  had  found  that  nearly  all  the  fossils  were 
common  to  both,  and  concluded  that  the  fragments  were  only 
the  surface  of  the  marl  torn  up  and  scattered.  He  concluded, 
also,  that  the  dispersion  of  the  fragments  was  of  comparatively 
recent  occurrence,  and  was  probably  due  to  the  recession  of  the 
waters  of  the  ocean  at  the  time  of  the  elevation  of  the  Post 
Pleiocene  to  its  present  level. 

He  says  in  continuation;  "I  have  more  than  once  alluded  to 
the  removal,  by  solution,  from  calcareous  rocks,  of  a  portion  or 
all  of  the  lime.  This  has  taken  place,  to  a  great  extent,  in  the' 
beds  under  consideration.  In  many  instances  there  is  little 
more  left  than  the  silica  and  alumina  of  the  marl,  with  a  trace 
of  lime;  and  the  latter  ingredient  rarely  exceeds  6  per  cent." 

In  making  this  statement  Professor  Tuomey  doubtless  had  in 
mind  the  marl  analyses  of  Ruffin,  which  he  quotes  further  on 
in  his  report,  particularly  that  of  the  "lumps  of  stony  hard- 
ness," previously  alluded  to  in  the  present  article,  when  speak- 
ing of  Ruf^n's  work.  By  the  term  "lime,"  also,  he  doubtless 
meant  carbonate  of  lime. 

Tuomey  evidently  did  not  suspect  the  presence  of  phosphoric 
acid  in  the  lumps  in  question,  doubtless  misled  by  the  fact  that, 
while  he  was  aware  that  the  agricultural  value  of  the  marls  was 
enhanced  by  the  presence  of  the  phosphate  of  lime  which  had 
been  shown  to  exist  therein,  he  was  of  opinion  that  the  phos- 
phate was  of  small  value  when  compared  with  the  carbonate. 
For  he  says  specifically:  "I  apprehend  that  the  carbonate  of 
lime  will  always  prove  the  constitutent  of  greatest  importance, 
valuable  as  the  phosphates  are."  (p.  235.)  He  could  have  been 
led  to  this  opinion  only  by  the  great  preponderance  of  the  car- 
bonate, for  in  the  appendix  to  his  report  he  publishes  several 
analyses  of  marl  made  by  Professor  Shepard,  in  which  the  latter 
gives  the  amounts  of  phosphate  of  lime  present  in  the  samples 
examined  and  then  makes  the  following  comments.  (Tuomey's 
Report,  page  xxxvii) : 


31 

"Prior  to  these  analyses,  it  was  very  difficult  to  account,  in 
any  very  satisfactory  manner,  for  the  known  efficacy  of  such 
marls  in  agriculture ;  since  the  soils  on  which  several  of  them 
had  been  employed  were  known,  by  analysis,  to  be  no  more  defi- 
cient in  carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia  than  the  prolific  soils  of 
the  Mississipi  Valley." 

"The  reason  assigned  for  marling  in  South  Carolina,  by  Mr. 
Ruffin,  viz:  that  carbonate  of  lime  is  thereby  afforded  to  land, 
does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  the  chief  motive  the  planter  has  for 
following  up  this  practice.  *  *  *  while  the  phosphate  of 
lime  and  magnesia  is  that  constituent  which,  in  my  opinion,  is 
decidedly  paramount  to  all  others." 

It  would  seem  that  so  clear  and  striking  an  announcement 
would  have  proved  fruitful  in  suggestion  and  that,  when 
in  spite  of  the  great  differences  in  appearance  and  other 
physical  characteristics  between  the  nodules  and  the  subjacent 
marl,  as  well  as  the  distinct  segregation  of  the  former  from  the 
latter,  Tuomey  had  been  led  to  the  abandonment  of  his  first 
views,  and  tv  the  conclusion  that  the  nodules  were  but  detached 
and  altered  fragments  of  marl,  attention  would  have  been  closely 
directed  to  them,  and  an  investigation  made  to  determine  more 
accurately  the  nature  of  a  material  that  had  undergone  such 
a  notable  alteration. 

That  such  was  not  the  case  is  made  more  remarkable  by  the 
number  and  character  of  the  investigators.  The  probable  ex- 
planation is  found  in  the  general  limitations  of  geological 
surveys. 

In  surveys  of  this  character,  and  where  a  large  amount  of 
territory  has  to  be  covered,  the  work  involved  is  invariably 
greater  than  the  means  for  carrying  it  on,  necessitating  economy 
of  every  kind  and  in  every  possible  direction. 

The  aim  of  the  geologist  is  to  examine  and  determine,  as  far 
as  is  possible,  the  structural  character  of  the  region  in  which  he 
is  operating,  and  it  being  manifestly  impossible  for  him  to 
examine  every  fragment  he  meets  with,  and  as  the  character  of 
such  fragmentary  material  is  apt  to  show  differences  from  that 
of  the  parent  bed,  having  been  more  or  less  altered  by  exposure 
to  air  and  weather,  it  is  the  practice  to  draw  all  samples  from 
the  bed  proper  to  insure  arriving  at  the  real  character  of  the 
formation  in  general. 

At  the  time  of  these  explorations,  also,  the  1  nowledge  of 
phosphatic  materials  was  comparatively    recent    and    extremely 


38 

limited,  while  its  analytical  determination,  to-day  still  a  matter 
of  experienced  skill,  was  then  involved  in  many  difficulties. 

In  addition,  the  utilization  of  amorphous  phosphatic  rocks  in 
Europe  was  so  recent,  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  had  yet 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  those  engaged  in  work  at  so  distant 
a  point  as  South  Carolina. 

These  considerations  explain  and  justify  the  failure  to  bring 
to  light,  at  that  time,  the  true  nature  of  the  phosphatic  nodules. 

To  show  that  the  course  thus  taken  by  events  was  in  no  way 
exceptional,  two  very  conspicuous  instances  of  similar  occur- 
rences, at  a  recent  date,  may  prove  of  interest. 

Shortly  before  the  discovery  of  the  hard  rock  deposits  of 
Florida,  an  expedition,  expressly  equipped  for  the  purpose,  as- 
cended the  Withlacoochee  River  in  search  of  phosphate  rock. 

This  river  is  crossed  by  several  limestone  dykes,  either  only 
slightly  below  the  surface  of  the  water  or  projecting  above  it. 
Samples  taken  from  these  dykes  were  carefully  tested  and  the 
absence  of  the  desired  material  asceitained. 

In  every  case,  or  nearly  so,  there  were  lying  immediately 
alongside  the  dykes  numerous  lumps  and  even  boulders  of 
phosphate  rock  of  ver}^  high  grade,  but  appearing  to  be  merely 
fragments  detached  from  the  main  mass,  no  attention  was  paid 
to  them  and  they  escaped  testing  and  discovery. 

Still  more  conspicuous  is  the  fact  that  the  heavy  and  exten- 
sive beds  of  the  Tennessee  deposits,  from  a  similar  cause,  en- 
tirely escaped  the  observation  of  a  systematic  geological  sur- 
vey, conducted  at  a  much  later  date,  when  the  character  and 
value  of  such  material  were  well  known  to  all  geologists; 
whereas,  in  Tuomey's  day,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  the  value  of 
amorphous  phosphates  had  been  discovered  only  a  couple  of 
years,  the  artificial  fertilizer  industry  was  in  its  early  infancy, 
and  there  was  probably  no  knowledge  of  these  far-reaching 
changes  to  give  an  impetus  to  the  search  for  suitable  phosphatic 
material. 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  PHOSPHATES. 

In  an  address  delivered  before  the  Medical  Association  of 
South  Carolina  in  1859,  Professor  Shepard,  after  describing 
various  foreign  stone  phosphates  that  he  had  examined  and 
urging  a  careful  investigation  of  the  marl  beds,  with  the  view 
of  determining  which  contained  the  largest  amount  of  phosphate 
of  lime,  struck  a  prophetic  note  when  he  stated  that  he  sincerely 
entertained  **the  opinion   that,    as    the    supply    of    guanos    from 


39 

abroad  fails,  We  shall  be  looked  to  fill  the  vacuum  their  dis^ 
appearance  will  occasion ;  and  it  would  not  be  strange  if  a  few 
years  hence  Charleston,  besides  supplying, her  own  State,  should 
ship  more  casks  of  phosphatic  stone  to  the  North  than  she  now 
receives  of  ordinary  lime  from  that  region." 


Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard,  Sr. 

Though  Professor  Shepard  failed  to  so  specify  in  his  address, 
it  seems  evident  from  several  considerations  that  in  using  the 
term  "  phosphatic  stone"  he  had  in  mind  material  other  than 
marl  rich  in  phsophoric  acid.  As  stated  by  himself,  in  the  same 
lecture,  he  had  just  been  engaged  in  so  careful  an  investigation 
of  several  foreign  rock  phosphates,  that  he  had  succeeded  in 
identifying  two  new  mineral  species,  one  of  which  he  had  found 
to  contain  80  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime. 

To  the  keenly  analytical  and  acute  mind  of  this  distinguished 
mineralogist  it  must  have  been  evident  at  a  glance  that  no  mere 
phosphatic  marl  could  ever  be  "exported  to  the  North"  in 
competition  with  phosphates  of  the  sorts  that  he  had  recently 
had  under  examination,  or  be  expected  to  supply  their  places. 

Indeed  it  was  just  about  this  time  that  he  pointed  out  the 
Ashley  River  marls  and  rocks  as  a  source  of  phosphoric  acid,  in 
connection  with  what  was  perhaps  the  first  fertilizer  plant  estab- 
lished in  the  State,  under  the  auspices  of  Col.  Lewis  M.  Hatch, 
of  Charleston. 


40 

Colonel  Hatch,  in  a  letter  to  the  Rural  Caiolinian,  (Vol.  11,  page 
357).  gives  an  extremely  interesting  account  of  this  enterprise, 
from  which  the  following  extracts  are  taken : 

"In  the  autumn  of  1859  ^Y  brother-in-law,  Mr.  T.  P.  Allen, 
proposed  that  we,  together  with  my  son,  Melvin  P.  Hatch,  then 
in  Europe,  should  utilize  the  refuse  matter  of  Charleston  for 
fertilizers.  I  had  been  selling  Columbian  guano;  and,  for  secu- 
rity to  my  customers,  had  engaged  Professor  C.  U.  Shepard  to 
examine  each  cargo  as  it  arrived.  We  called  Professor  Shepard 
to  our  consultation,  and  determined  to  prosecute  the  new  work 
with  Professor  S.  as  our  chemist." 

"We  used  mainly  bones,  charcoal,  ammoniacal  liquors,  ashes, 
refuse  from  soap  boilers,  burnt  rice,  sulphuric  acid  and  Peru- 
vian guano,  making  a  fertilizer  which  we  thought  worth  thirty 
dollars  a  ton,  and  sold  for  that  price.  It  was  in  every  way  a 
success. 

"We  gathered  enough  bones  to  have  lasted  us  perhaps,  with 
increased  business,  another  year;  but  seeing  that  the  supply  of 
phosphates  would  be  short  from  this  source,  Professor  Shepard 
advised  that  we  should  look  to  the  Ashley  River  marl  or  rocks 
for  a  supply,  saying  *he  felt  sure  that  these  would  prove  to  be 
richer  in  phosphates  than  was  usually  supposed.'  No  sooner 
proposed  than  acted  upon.  In  the  spring  of  i860  we  went  to 
Major  Vardell's  place,  finding  the  rock  there  and  elsewhere  along 
our  route." 

"Subsequently  making  up  my  mind  that  the  best  place  from 
which  to  obtain  supplies  was  Gen.  Brisbane's  plantation,  now^ 
the  site  of  the  Wando  Works,  I  caused  to  be  gathered  there  a 
quantity  of  the  rock  or  nodules,  which  I  sent  to  Prof.  Shepard  at 
New  Haven.  I  did  this  to  make  sure  that  the  material  at  this 
place  was  of  such  quality  as  would  suit  our  purposes  and  make 
the  purchase  of  the  land  safe.  When  I  met  Prof.  Shepard, 
in  the  autumn  of  i860,  he  said  in  reply  to  my  inquiry  as  to 
quality : 

"  4  found  it  richer  far  than  I  expected;  so  rich,  that  with  it 
we  can  drive  all  other  fertilizers  out  of  the  market,  and  may 
invade  foreign  markets." 

The  samples  shipped  to  New  Haven  were  powdered  and  ap- 
plied to  Professor  Shepard's  garden,  yielding  results  which 
helped  him  to  form  the  high  estimate  of  value  expressed  to  Colonel 
Hatch. 


a 

Unfortunately,  not  having  spent  the  summer  in  New  Havetl, 
and  thus  being  away  from  his  laboratory,  he  made  no  analysis 
of  the  ground  nodules. 

Why,  in  the  absence  of  such  an  analysis,  he  was  so  strongly 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  their  content  of  phosphate  of  lime 
was  so  much  higher  than  usual,  is  not  known,  though  it  is  ex- 
tremely probable  that  it  was  largely  due  to  physical  resemblances 
to  some  of  the  foreign  phosphates  he  had  examined  not  long 
before. 

Professor  Shepard  was  a  mineralogist  of  high  reputation,  and 
possessed  to  such  a  remarkable  and  exceptional  degree  the  power 
of  detecting  the  minute  differences  in  physical  characteristics 
that  distinguish  many  minerals,  that  it  seemed  rather  intuition 
than  conscious  discrimination,  and  it  is,  therefore,  very  proba- 
ble tliat  the  suggestion  made  above  is  true. 

Not  only  to  Colonel  Hatch  did  Professor  Shepard  give  the 
advice  to  seek  phosphatic  material  in  the  nodules  of  the  Ashley 
beds,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  dated 
July  II,  1873,  addressed  by  Geo.  T.  Jackson,  Esq.,  of  Augusta, 
Georgia,  to  Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard,  Jr. 

"In  i860  your  father  and  myself  entered  into  an  agreement 
to  manufacture  a  fertilizer  at  this  place  and,  under  his  direc- 
tion, I  secured  a  location  and  at  once  proceeded  to  gather  mate- 
rial. I  had  purchased  all  the  raw  bone  to  be  had  here  and  other 
material  and  had  gathered  sufficient  to  make  a  fair  start. 

"The  supply  of-  bones,  however,  we  early  saw  would  not  be 
sufficient  and,  in  looking  about  for  a  substitute,  he  told  me  that 
there  was  a  large  deposit  of  marl  on  the  Ashley  River  which  he 
thought  would  answer  our  purposes. 

"At  my  request  he  sent  me  some  specimens  of  the  identical 
phosphate  now  being  used  so  advantageously  in  the  manufacture 
of  fertilizers.  These  specimens  I  retained  for  two  or  three 
years.  This  was  in  the  spring  of  1861.  Owing  to  the  war  our 
operations  were  suspended  and  consequently  we  were  not  able  to 
reap  the  advantages  that  I  have  no  doubt  we  should  have." 

The  same  cause,  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  put  a  stop  to  the 
operations  of  Colonel  Hatch,  who,  believing  after  the  war  that 
the  people  of  the  South  were  too  poor  to  buy  fertilizers,  decided 
to  move  to  North  Carolina. 

He  concludes  the  communication  quoted  from  above  as  fol- 
lows: "After  I  was  committed  here,  I  found  to  my  surprise,  on 
a  visit  to  Charleston,  that  our  people  were  buying  fertilizers 
largely  from  the  North. 


4i 

''Consulting  with  Professor  Shepard,  (unable  at  ttie  moment 
to  take  hold  myself,)  a  partnership  was  formed  between  Major 
Vardell  and  Mr.  Blake,  of  New  Haven.  Mr,  B.  was  to  furnish 
capital;  and  the  firm  proposed  to  use  a  quartz  crusher,  the  in- 
vention of  his  father,  for  crushing  the  material.  I  sold  them 
the  materials  already  gathered, — land,  buildings,  steam  engine, 
etc.  Going  South  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Christmas,  Mr.  Blake 
was  unfortunately  drowned  ;  and  with  his  death  that  effort  ended. 

"During  the  war  I  mentioned  to  Mr.  John  R.  Dukes  that 
Professor  Shepard  had  remarked  to  me,  in  relation  to  the  Ashley 
River  deposits:  "That  about  nine  miles  from  Charleston  there 
was  a  deposit  which  reminded  him  very  much  of  the  Columbian 
o^uano,"  and  from  this  sprung  the  search  for  these  nodules 
which  has  resulted,  through  the  agency  of  Doctors  Ravenel  and 
Pratt,  in  this  valuable  discovery.  The  truth  is,  that  the  first 
step  was  taken  when  Mr.  Allen  proposed  to  utilize  the  refuse 
matter  of  Charleston. 

"Mr.  Allen  made  the  germinal  suggestion.  Professor  Shep. 
ard,  as  chemist,  pointed  out  the  source  of  needful  supply,  and 
proved  its  value.  He  did  this  in  advance  of  all  others.  In  ad- 
vance, please  bear  in  mind,  of  Professor  Ansted,  whose  book 
we  did  not  need,  even  in  1864,  to  give  us  the  thought.  We 
were  convinced  in  i860,  that,  with  the  Ashley  River  phosphates, 
we  could  compete  with  the  world  in  fertilizers. 

"Let  us  give  to  Mr.  Allen  that  which  is  his  due,  and  to  Pro- 
fessor Shepard  his, — that  as  a  scientific  man  he  pointed  out  and 
predicted  their  future  use." 

Other  parties  now  entered  the  field  of  fertilizer  manufacture. 
In  November  1866,  Doctor  St.  Julien  Ravenel,  of  Charleston, 
a  man  of  very  distinguished  scientific  attainments  and  an  able 
chemist,  associated  himself  with  Messrs.  W.  C.  Dukes  &  Co.  and 
Mr.  D.  C.  Ebaugh,  for  this  purpose. 

The  factory  established  by  Colonel  Hatch  and  his  associates 
had  been  located  near  the  forks  of  the  road.  The  new  enterprise 
was  started,  early  in  1867,  on  Palmetto  wharf,  on  the  city  water 
front.  The  factory  was  provided  with  "a  huge  iron  crusher  which 
breaks  the  limestone  and  other  hard  substances  into  fragments, 
a  pulverizer  and  a  mixer,"  but,  having  no  acid  plant,  had  to 
bring  its  sulphuric  acid  from  the  north. 

Meeting  with  the  usual  experience,  a  threatened  dearth  in  the 
supply  of  bones,  the  company  had  recourse  to  Navassa  phos- 
phate rock,  receiving  the  first  consignment  of  four  hundred 
and    fifty-nine    tons,  on  November  10,  1867.     This  shipment,  to- 


gether  with  some  four  hundred  and  fifty  tons  received  thirteen 
days  later,  was  never  used,  being  ultimately  shipped  to  Balti- 
more. 

THE  FINAL  STEP. 

The  end,  for  which  all  these  incidents  had  been  but  a  long 
chain  of  preparation,  was  now  near  at  hand. 

The  opportuness  of  its  advent  no  man  can  question.  The 
temporary  reaction  that  followed,  as  is  usually  the  case,  the 
close  of  a  devastating  and  disastrous  war  was  rapidly  losing  its 
energy,  and  the  outlook,  particularly  for  the  neighboring  sea- 
coast  country,  was  gloomy  in  the  extreme. 

Made  up  in  large  part,  as  it  was,  of  swampy  and  undrained  and 
unreclaimed  lands,  with  most  of  the  expensive  improvements 
necessary  to  its  peculiar  crops  falling  to  decay  or  entirely  gone, 
its  future  seemed  fraught  with  disaster  and  the  outcome  no  man 
could  foretell. 


Doctor  St.  Julien  Ravenel. 

Some  time  in  the  summer  of  1867  Doctor  Ravenel's  attention 
was  directed  to  the  nodular  deposits  of  the  vicinity.  What 
gave  it  this  direction  is  not  authoritatively  known.  Doctor  Rave- 
nel, so  far  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  learn,  never  having 
published  any  statement  of  the  matter. 

Colonel  Hatch  thought  and  said  that  the  information  given  by 
him  to  Mr.  John  R.  Dukes    during    the    war,  quoted    above,  was 


u 

the  cause  of  the  search.  While  this  is  possible,  it  is  extremely 
improbable.  Had  Doctor  Ravenel  had  any  information  that 
there  was  even  a  remote  possibility  that  he  might  be  able  to 
supply  the  needs  of  his  company  with  a  material  so  easily  ac- 
cessible, it  seems  hardly  probable  that  he  would  have  agreed,  as 
must  have  been  the  case,  to  the  purchase  of  at  least  so  large  an 
amount  of  Navassa  rock.  Wnat  is  probably  the  true  version  of 
the  matter  is  that  given  by  the  writer  (anonymous)  of  an  ex- 
tremely valuable  article  on  the  subject  of  phosphates  in  ''The 
Trade  and  Commerce  of  Charleston,  ''published  by  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  in  1873. 

The  statement  therein  contained  is  as  follows: 

"During  the  summer  of  1867  Dr.  St.  Julien  Ravenel  received 
from  Dr.  F.  M.  Geddings  specjjjiens  of  teeth  nodules  and  marl, 
taken  from  'The  Elms*  plantation.  Goose  Creek,  owned  by  his 
father,  Dr.  E.  Geddings.  While  examining  these  specimens, 
Doctor  Ravenel  became  aware  of  the  true  character  of  the  nodules 
and  through  Mr.  Theodore  Stoney,  made  an  effort  to  procure 
them  from  the  banks  of  the  Ashley  River." 

Whatever  the  inciting  cause,  Doctor  Ravenel  was  soon  satis- 
fied by  his  investigations  of  the  suitability  of  the  nodules  for  the 
purposes  of  fertilizer  manufacture,  and  doubtless  had  in  mind 
their  utilization  in  his  works,  for,  in  a  foot  note  to  the  article 
from  which  the  above  extract  is  made,  Mr.  Stoney  is  quoted  as 
saying:  "Early  in  the  sum.mer  of  1807,  Dr.  St.  J.  Ravenel  in 
formed  me  that  he  had  been  examining  the  nodules  from  Ashley 
River,  and  found  them  so  valuable  that  he  wished  me  to  engage 
a  competent  person  to  collect  and  bring  them  to  the  city.  I 
did  engage  Capt.  Beese,  who  had  run  on  the  river  all  his  life,  to 
do  so." 

About  this  time  Doctor  N.  A.  Pratt  came  to  Doctor  Ravenel 
to  confer  with  him  in  regard  to  an  enterprise  for  which  he  had 
been  laying  the  plans.  Doctor  Pratt,  a  native  of  Georgia,  had 
visited  Charleston  on  inspection  tours  during  the  war,  and  while 
there  learned  of  the  fact  that  the  marls  of  the  State  contained 
from  10  to  15  percent,  of  phosphate  of  lime.  Struck  by  their 
superiority,  in  this  respect,  to  those  of  his  native  state,  which 
contain,  on  an  average,  some  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  this 
constituent,  he  secured  specimens  and  forwarded  them  to  his 
laboratory,  with  the  purpose  of  analyzing  them,  a  purpose  how- 
ever, which  was  never  carried  into  effect. 

Doctor  Pratt  states  that  during  the  war  he  formed  a  plan  to 
erect  chemical  works  at  some  point  in  the  South.      Being  satis- 


45 


ficd  with  the  location  of  Charleston,  he  settled  there  after  the 
war,  and  early  in  1866  endeavored,  without  success,  to  secure 
the  necessary  capital  to  erect  an  acid  plant  and  fertilizer  works. 
It  is  stated,  that  the  object  of  his  conference  with  Doctor 
Ravenel  was  to  inquire  of  the  latter,  with  whose  high  attain- 
ments and  great  knowledge  of  local  conditions  he  was  well  ac- 
quainted, as  to  the  feasibility  of  finding  some  use  for  the  output 
of  his  proposed  acid  plant. 


Doctor  N.  A.  Pratt. 

Doctor  Ravenel  in  reply  handed  him  one  of  the  nodules,  in- 
formed him  of  its  value,  and,  according  to  one  account,  without 
mentioning  any  figures  as  to  content  of  phosphate  of  lime,  told 
him  that  the  nodules,  of  which  the  one  he  was  handing  him  was 
a  sample,  would  yield  a  raw  material  requiring  all  the  acid  he 
would  be  able  to  make. 

Doctor  Pratt's  account  of  this  interview  differs  from  the 
above.  He  stated  that  he  went  to  Doctor  Ravenel's  office  to 
look  at  some  foreign  guanos  that  had  been  received  by  the  latter. 
While  there,  Doctor  Ravenel  showed  him  one  of  the  nodules, 
telling  him  that  it  contained  from  10  to  15  per  cent,  of  phos- 
phate of  lime,  and  gave  it  to  him  for  examination. 

The  two  accounts  differ  materially  in  important  points,  but 
the  differences  were  probably  due  to  misconceptions  on  both 
sides.     From  the  subject  of  foreign  guanos  to  that  of  local  acid- 


46 

making  the  transition  was  natural  and  short,  and  the  import- 
ance of  the  latter  to  the  manufacture  in  which  both  gentlemen 
were  earnestly  interested  was  so  great,  that  it  probably  became 
the  main  sul)ject  of  discussion,  and  the  idea  might  readily  have 
been  engendered  in  the  mind  of  Doctor  Ravenel  that  this  had 
been  the  object  of  Doctor  Pratt's  visit. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  nodule  was  handed  to  Doctor 
Pratt  there  was  doubtless  some  discussion  of  its  occurrence  in 
connection  with  the  adjoining  marl,  and  some  remark  made  by 
Doctor  Ravenel  as  to  the  phosphoric  acid  content  of  the  latter 
might  readily  have  been  misunderstood  by  Doctor  Pratt  as  hav- 
ing reference  to  the  nodule,  which  was  the  immediate  object  of 
discussion.  That  this,  or  something  similar,  was  probably  the 
state  of  the  case,  is  made  almost  certain  by  the  consideration 
that  Doctor  Ravenel  could  scarcely  have  been  ignorant  of  the 
value  of  the  nodules.  He  had  been  long  and  prominently  en- 
gaged in  the  scientific  life  of  the  neighborhood,  had  been 
familiar  with  the  men  who  had  studied  and  knew  the  facts  con- 
nected with  the  subject,  and  in  so  small  a  circle  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  escaped  becoming  more  or  less  familiar  therewith. 
Whether  or  not  he  had  ever  heard  of  Professor  Shepard's  esti- 
mate of  the  value  of  the  nodules,  the  ones  in  question  had  been 
handed  him  for  examination,  and  the  mere  fact  that  he  selected 
one  of  them  for  Doctor  Pratt  is  proof  presumptive  that  he  had 
some  special  reason  for  the  segregation,  especially  when  the 
insignificance  of  the  phosphate  stratum,  as  compared  with  the 
marl  bed,  is  remembered.  To  the  writer  it  seems  certain, 
that  Doctor  Ravenel  did  not  become  acquainted  with  the 
value  of  the  nodule  until  after  the  purchase  of  Navassa  rock, 
alluded  to  above,  had  been  made.  It  is  impossible  to  believe 
that,  if  he  had  had  even  a  remote  idea  of  the  possible  availability 
of  a  material,  the  truth  as  to  whose  value  it  would  be  so  easy 
to  ascertain,  he  would  have  allowed  his  company  to  make  the 
expensive  purchase  in  question.  It  seems  further  certain  that, 
subsequent  to  the  Navassa  purchase,  he  analyzed  the  nodules 
which  had  been  placed  in  his  hands  and  ascertained  tliat  they 
contained  an  amount  of  phosphate  beyond  that  shown  by  any 
analysis  previously  made,  and  there  can  ht  no  doubt  that,  such 
being  the  case,  he  was  fairly  entitled  to  the  credit  of  an  inde- 
pendent discovery  of  the  value  of  the  nodules. 

The  following  letter,  received  since  the  preceding  paragraphs 
were  put  in  type,  is  of  great  interest,  and  strongly  confirmatory 
of  the  views  that  have  been  set  forth  above. 


47 

Summerville,  S.  C,  November  5,  1903. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Chazal:  In  connection  with  our  recent  conver- 
sation on  the  subject,  I  would  state  that  I  recall  a  visit  paid  my 
father  by  Dr.  St.  Julien  Ravenel  at  the  chemical  laboratory 
of  the  Medical  College  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  in  the 
winter  of  1867-68,  at  which  Dr.  Ravenel  imparted  to  him  the 
results  of  his  investigations  as  to  the  occurrence  and  value  of 
the  South  Carolina  phosphatic  deposits,  more  particularly  the 
nodular  beds  on  the  Ashley. 

My  father  at  that  time  expressed  his  surprise  and  gratification 
that  some  had  been  found  which  contained  over  sixty  per  cent, 
of  bone  phosphate  of  lime,  whereas  his  own  previous  examina- 
tions had  indicated  less  than  fifty  per  cent.,  i.  e.,  in  the 
"forties."  '  * 

I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  conversation  referred 
to  was  the  first  intimation  that  my  father  received  of  the  re- 
newal of  the  attention  being  paid  to  the  local  phosphatic  beds, 
so  happily  inaugurated  by  Dr.  Ravenel,  and  so  diligently 
prosecuted  by  him  and  others. 

Yours  very  truly, 

CHARLES  U.  SHEPARD. 

INAUGURATION  OF  THE   PHOSPHATE  INDUSTRY. 

In  any  event,  Doctor  Pratt,  on  receiving  the  nodule  from 
Doctor  Ravenel,  entered  upon  its  analysis  and  found  it  to  con- 
tain 34.40  per  cent  of  phosphate  of  lime. 

Appreciating  at  once  the  great  interests  at  stake,  he  hastened 
to  consult  Professor  P'rancis  S.  Holmes  as  to  the  occurrence  of 
the  nodular  strata  and  the  possible  supply  of  nodules.  To  Pro- 
fessor Holmes  they  were  old  friends.  He  had  made  the  pursuit 
of  science,  for  the  love  thereof,  his  life  work,  had  studied  dili- 
gently the  geological  history  and  conditions  of  the  low-country 
of  South  Carolina,  had  been  intimately  associated  with  Tuomey, 
with  whom  he  had  collaborated  in  valuable  treatises  on  the 
Pleiocene  and  Post-Pleiocene  fossils  of  the  State,  and  in  his  ex- 
tended investigations  had  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  country  immediately  around  Chaileston. 

Professor  Holmes  showed  Doctor  Pratt  a  large  collection  of 
the  nodules  and  gave  him  some  specimens,  two  of  which  yielded^ 
on  analysis,  55.92  per  cent,  and  55.52  per  cent,  bone  phosphate 
of  lime.  Samples  obtained  by  Doctor  Pratt  himself  on  his  visits 
to  the  deposits,  made  in  company  with  Professor  Holmes,  gave 
results  varying  from  57  to  dj  per  cent,   of  bone  phosphate. 


48 


Doctor  Pratt  appreciated  fully  the  importance  of  the  infor- 
mation afforded  by  these  analyses  and  by  what  he  had  learned 
from  Professor  Holmes  as  to  the  occurrence  and  quantity  of  the 
nodules.  In  company  with  the  latter,  he  made  an  effort  to  secure 
in  Charleston  the  funds  necessary  for  a  proper  development  of 
the  enterprise.  Failing  to  do  this,  they  proceeded  to  Philadel- 
phia, where  their  efforts  were  effective  and  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  the  Charleston,  S.  C,  Mining  and  Manufacturing 
Company,  which  was  formally  organized  at  Charleston  on  No- 
vember 29,  1867,  with  a  paid  up  capital  of  one  million  dollars, 
Professor  Holmes  being  elected  president,  and  Doctor  Pratt, 
cliemist  and  superintendent. 


Professor  Francis  S.   Holme's. 

The  new  company  speedily  secured  for  itself  a  large  area  of 
phosphate  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  Ashley  River,  about  Bee's 
Ferry  and  Ten  Mile  Hill. 

The  intimate  knowledge  of  local  geological  conditions  pos- 
sessed by  Professor  Holmes  was  of  infinite  value  in  this  work, 
and  the  territory  secured  at  that  time,  together  with  other  lands 
purchased  at  a  later  period,  formed  a  phosphate  property  which 
could  not  be  duplicated  .which  was  extremely  valuable  on  account 
of  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  deposit,  and  which  was  in  im- 
mediate proximity  to  navigation. 

In  the  meanwhile.  Doctor  Ravenel  and  his  associates,  organ- 
ized   as  the   Wando     Fertilizer   Company   and    acting   indepen- 


49 

dently  and,  it  is  said,  without  any  knowledge  of  the  efforts 
being  made  in  Philadelphia,  proceeded  to  gather  a  supply  of  the 
nodules  from  their  Bee's  Ferry  property  and  utilized  them  in 
their  fertilizer  manufacture  during  the  following  winter,  ship- 
ping their  Navassa  rock ,  as  has  already  been  stated,  to  Balti- 
more. 

Relying  entirely,  as  they  did,  on  local  capital,  their  efforts 
were  very  much  restricted;  they  were  prevented  from  making 
any  attempts  to  secure  a  large  acreage  of  phosphate  property, 
and  looked  mainly  to  securing  a  supply  for  their  own  use,  as 
manufacturers. 

The  formation  of  these  two  companies  not  only  marked  the 
inauguration  of  the  new  industry  in  both  its  branches,  mining 
and  manufacturing,  but  it  was  also  the  last  step,  in  the  work 
begun  long  since,  even  though  unconsciously,  by  Ruffin  and 
Tuomey,  and  carried  along,  added  to  and  completed  by  their 
successors. 

Delayed  in  its  first  stages  by  the  slow  spread  of  knowledge 
of  the  new  ideas  in  manuring,  it  had  met,  when  apparently  on 
the  verge  of  completion,  with  a  serious  check,  in  the  breaking 
out  of  the  civil  war,  a  war  so  all-absorbing  and,  in  Charleston 
at  least,  so  ruinous  in  its  consequences  of  destruction  of  prop- 
erty and  paralysis  of  trade  and  activities,  that  the  only  matter 
for  surprise  is  that  the  end  was  arrived  at  so  soon. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  DEPOSITS. 

On  December  4,  1867,  Messrs,  Dukes  &  Co.,  the  agents  of  the 
Wando  Company,  shipped  the  first  small  sample  lot  of  rock  to 
George  E.  White,  of  New  York;  on  the  i6th  of  the  same  month 
the  Charleston  Mining  Company  made  its  first  shipment,  also  a 
sample  lot  of  sixteen  tierces,  by  the  steamer  Falcon,  to  Balti- 
more, whence  it  was  forwarded  to  Philadelphia,  where  a  part 
of  it  was  made  into  super-phosphate  by  Messrs.    Potts   &   Klett. 

The  first  cargo,  of  100  tons,  was  shipped  by  the  schooner  Ren- 
shaw  to  Baltimore,  on  April  14,  1868,  by  the  Wando  Company. 
Eight  days  later,  on  April  22,  the  schooners  T.  G.  Smith  and 
Anna  Barton  sailed  for  Philadelphia,  carrying  the  first  cargoes 
of  the  Charleston  Mining  Company,  of  296  and  329  tons  res- 
pectively, loaded  at  Lamb's. 

So  far,  no  mechanical  washers  had  been  devised  or  erected, 
and  the  only  cleansing  received  by  the  rock  comprising  these 
two  shipments  was  such  as  could  be  given  by  a  rough  scrubbing 


50 

with  hand  brushes  in  a  convenient  creek.  It  is  not  surprising, 
then,  to  learn  that  the  cargoes  were  so  dirty  that  they  had 
practically  to  be  mined  out  of  the  vessels. 

The  price  fixed  in  this  first  contract  was  fourteen  dollars  per 
ton,  netting  about  ten  dollars  per  ton,  f.  o.  b.  In  spite,  how- 
ever, of  the  small  preparation  given  to  the  rock,  this  price  was 
not  found  remunerative  and  the  contract  was  cancelled. 

The  cause  of  this  lay  chiefly  in  the  way  the  rock  was  mined, 
consisting,  as  it  did,  in  digging  a  series  of  separate  small  pits, 
the  labor  being  greatly  increased,  the  yield  small,  and  the 
output  per  acre  greatly  reduced  by  the  amount  of  ground 
left  undug.  On  these  very  properties  of  the  Charleston  Mining 
Company,  some  of  the  fields  that  had  been  pitted  in  this  way 
were  afterwards  mined  systematically,  and  as  much  rock  taken 
from  them  as  had  been  obtained  at  the  first  digging. 

These  were,  of  course,  the  usual  troubles  of  a  new  mining  in- 
dustry, and  were  soon  overcome. 

The  first  washer  built  by  the  Charleston  Mining  Company, 
the  Washer  No.  i,  was  given  practically  no  elevation  above  the 
ground,  and  all  the  material  had  to  be  rolled  up  on  the  rock- 
piles  in  barrows.  The  costliness  of  this  handling  was  soon  real- 
ized, and  the  No.  2  Washer,  erected  in  1869,  was  considerably 
elevated.  During  the  year  1868  the  shipments  of  this  company 
amounted  to  4,403  tons,  all  of  which  went  to  Philadelphia. 
Until  the  latter  part  of  1879  ^^^  ^^  their  rock  was  shipped  in  a 
washed,  undried  condition.  After  that  time,  however,  a  por- 
tion of  the  product  was  dried  in  bins  with  hot  air,  until  1882, 
when  the  bins  were  abandoned  and  the  present  system  of  kiln 
burning  over  wood  was  adopted. 

FAVORABLE  RECEPTION  OF  THE  NEW  ROCK. 

The  new  material  caused  great  excitement  in  the  fertilizer 
world.  A  part  of  the  first  sample  shipment  to  Philadelphia  was 
forwarded  to  Messrs.  Coates  Sl  Co.,  of  London,  and  distributed 
by  them  for  examination  and,  in  a  letter  from  them,  it  was  stated, 
that  "it  had  been  analyzed  by  distinguished  chemists  of  Eng- 
land, France,  Prussia,  Austria,  Denmark,  Sweden  and  Switzer- 
land, and  a  high  opinion  of  its  value  held  by  them." 

Unfortunately  for  the  land  phosphate  industry,  more  or  less 
negligence  in  preparation  and  carelessness  in  shipment  were  the 
rule  for  several  years,  whereas  the  opposite  was  the  case  with  its 
river  rival. 


51 

The  latter  rock,  too,  generally  contained,  naturally,  a  smaller 
amount  of  oxide  of  iron  and  alumina,  the  difference  between  the 
two  classes  of  rock  in  this  respect,  however,  being  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  respective  methods  of  preparation. 

The  amount  of  these  two  constituents  in  a  rock  having  a  potent 
influence  on  the  solubility  in  water  of  the  super-phosphate  pro- 
duced from  it,  this  point  was  one  of  great  importance  in  countries, 
like  England,  where  no  value  was  assigned  to  any  other  form  of 
phosphoric  acid  than  the  water  soluble. 

These  points  produced  a  strong  prejudice  against  the  land  rock, 
which  prevailed  for  many  years,  during  which  it  was  practically 
excluded  from  the  European  market  and  its  activities  limited 
to  the  domestic  field. 

THE  RIVER  DEPOSITS. 

On  March  i,  1870,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State,  by  a 
vote  of  more  than  three  to  one,  passed  over  the  veto  of  Governor 
R.  K.  Scott,  the  act  giving  the  Marine  and  River  Phosphate 
Mining  and  Manufacturing  Company  "the  right  to  dig,  mine  and 
remove  for  the  full  term  of  twenty-one  years,  from  the  beds  of 
the  navigable  streams  and  waters  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
State,  the  phosphate  rocks  and  the  phosphatic  deposits,"  subject 
of  course,  to  riparian  rights  and  freedom  of  navigation. 

The  terms  of  the  Act  were  extremely  liberal,  the  only  require- 
ments by  the  State  being  that  the  company  should  file  a  bond 
of  $50,000,  to  secure  the  making  of  true  returns  of  the 
amount  of  rock  mined,  and  pay  a  royalty  of  one  dollar  per  ton. 
No  conditions  were  imposed  in  reference  to  a  thorough  and  sys- 
tematic mining  of  the  deposits,  and  apparently  the  only  changes 
made  by  the  General  Assembly  in  the  bill  presented  to  it  was 
the  striking  out  of  the  word  ''exclusive",  in  describing  the  charac- 
ter of  the  rights  granted. 

The  absence  of  knowledge  as  to  the  extent  and  character  of 
the  deposits,  and  the  varying  conditions  of  quantity,  quality  and 
accessibility  prevalent  therein,  would,  it  is  true,  have  made  a 
rational  handling  of  the  question  one  of  great  difficulty  even 
for  an  honest  and  intelligent  body.  The  General  Assembly  that 
had  the  settlement  of  the  matter  possessed  neither  of  these 
qualifications,  but  was  distinctly  and  notoriously  ignorant  and 
purchasable,  a  large  number  of  its  members  being  unable  to  read 
or  write. 

Governor  Scott's  veto,  ostensibly  at  any  rate,  was  largely  based 
on  the  idea  that  the  corporators,   for   the    most    part    owners    of 


62 

land  deposits,  would  fail  to  operate  the  river  territory  to  any  ex- 
tent, if  at  all,  to  prevent  competition  with  their  land  mines. 

He  professed  to  fear  that,  although  the  word  "exclusive" 
had  been  stricken  out  in  the  Senate,  such  rights  had  been  given, 
either  really  or  practically,  and  that  private  citizens  would  be 
deprived  of  the  privilege  of  mining. 

Supposing  the  deposits  to  be  of  practically  unlimited  extent, 
their  proper  utilization  and  development,  if  the  question  ever 
suggested  itself  to  him,  doubtless  seemed  a  matter  of  compara- 
tively small  moment. 

Experience  has  demonstrated  that  the  true  policy  of  the  State, 
at  that  time,  was  to  have  had  the  territory  properly  examined 
and  subdivided,  and  to  have  sold  exclusive  rights  to  mine  in  the 
various  subdivisions  to  responsible  individuals  or  companies,  the 
mining  to  be  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the  authorities  and 
royalty  to  be  paid  on  the  output. 

This,  or  some  similar  course,  would  have  prevented  the  dete- 
rioration and  partial  ruin  of  some  of  the  deposits  that  followed, 
in  consequence  of  the  mining  of  only  the  more  easily  accessible 
portions  of  the  beds. 

The  State,  however,  failed  to  see  the  wisdom  of  this  course, 
and  for  the  most  part,  then  and  afterward,  acted  on  the  fallacious 
idea  that,  instead  of  being  the  property  of  the  people  of  the  State 
as  a  whole  and  as  such  to  be  worked  in  the  way  to  obtain  the 
largest  returns,  the  phosphate  beds  were  the  property  of  the  peo- 
ple as  individuals,  to  be  a  source  of  profit  to  them  as  such, 
this  being,  of  course,  particularly  applicable  to  the  residents 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  beds. 

The  only  special  right  the  latter  should  have  enjoyed  was  the 
opportunity  of  employment  afforded  them  by  the  development 
of  the  new  industry,  but  the  exploitation  of  the  general  rights 
system  offered  too  fertile  a  field  to  political  demagogues  to  be 
overlooked,  especially  when  the  other  citizens  of  the  State  fail- 
ed to  realize  the  state  of  affairs  and  to  take  steps  to  preserve 
their  rights,  which  were  thus  trespassed  upon.  It  is  true  that 
no  good  could  have  been  accomplished  in  this  respect 
during  the  existence  of  the  carpet-bag  regime,  but  even  after  its 
overthrow  in  1876,  when  the  exclusive  rights  system  was  recom- 
mended by  Attorney  General  Conner  and  afterward  by  Special 
Assistant  E.  L.  Roche,  no  change  was  made  and  the  old  system 
was  adhered  to. 

Fortunately  for  the  interests  of  the  State,  the  profitable  hand- 
ling of  the  river  beds  to  any  extent  demanded  the  installation  of 


53 

large  and  expensive  plants  for  the  excavation  and  treatment  of 
the  rock,  and  the  large  investments  required  necessitated  more 
or  less  thorough  exploitation. 

THE  MARINE  AND  RIVER  MINING  COMPANY. 

This  company,  organized  March  15,  1870,  with  a  capital  of 
$500,000,  half  of  which  was  paid  in,  commenced  operations  the 
following  June,  and  raised  and  shipped  about  3,000  tons  by  the 
end  of  the  same  year. 

In  the  meanwhile.  Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard,  Jr.  had  been 
employed  by  the  company  to  examine  the  river  territory,  with 
the  exception  of  Coosaw  River  and  North  Wimbee  Creek,  and 
as  the  result  of  his  investigations  reported  that,  although  there 
were  large  beds  of  rock  in  Stono  and  other  rivers,  their  charac- 
ter was  such  as  to  require  great  care  and  prudence  in  mining  to 
make  the  new  enterprise  profitable,  and  that  he  did  not  consider 
the  outlook  for  large  returns  as  favorable. 

Prior  to  this,  the  Marine  and  River  Company,  which  in  spite 
of  the  excision  of  the  word  "exclusive"  from  its  act  of  incorpora- 
tion, claimed  to  have  received  exclusive  rights  to  mine  in  all  the 
navigable  waters  of  the  State,  had  transferred  these  rights  in 
Coosaw  River  to  the  Coosaw  Mining  Company,  and  in  North  and 
South  Wimbee  creeks  to  the  South  Carolina  Phosphate  Company 
(Limited),  generally  known  as  the  Oak  Point  Mines  Company. 

The  General  Assembly,  however,  disregarding  the  claims  of 
the  Marine  and  River  Company, proceeded  togrant  other  licenses 
to  mine,  the  result  of  which  was  a  suit  brought  in  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court,  in  1874,  by  William  L.  Bradley,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, a  large  stockholder  in  the  Marine  and  River  Company, 
against  the  South  Carolina  Phosphate  and  Phosphatic  River 
Mining  Company,  in  which  the  Court  decided  that  no  exclusive 
grant  had  been  made  to  the  Marine  and  River  Company.  No 
appeal  was  made  from  this  decision,  which  was  thus,  apparently, 
accepted. 

THE  COOSAW  MINING  COMPANY. 

The  Coosaw  Mining  Company  commenced  operations  in  Nov- 
ember, 1870,  locating  its  works  on  Chisolm's  Island,  on  Coosaw 
River.  The  royalty  due  by  it  on  the  rock  mined  was  paid,  at 
first,  through  the  Marine  and  River  Company,  but  later  on, 
in  1878,  it  was  paid  directly  to  the  State,  the  Company  having 
filed  a  bond  for  $50,000. 


54 

The  decision  of  the  United  States  Court  in  the  Bradley  case, 
referred  to  above,  necessarily  involved  the  validity  of  the  rights 
that  the  Coosaw  Company  was  exercising  under  its  grant  from 
the  Marine  and  River  Company,  but  in  1876  an  act  was  passed, 
nominally  to  settle  the  periods  at  which  returns  should  be  made 
and  royalty  paid,  by  which,  however,  ''its  right  to  dig  and  mine 
in  the  navigable  waters  of  the  State"  was  recognized,  and  it  was 
granted  **the  exclusive  right  to  occupy,  dig,  mine  and  remove 
phosphate  rock  and  phosphatic  deposits  from  all  that  part  of 
Coosaw  River  lying  opposite  to  and  south  of  Chisolm's  Island, 
whereon  their  works  are  located,  and  to  the  marshes  thereof." 

THE  OAK  POINT  MINES  COMPANY. 

The  Oak  Point  MinesCompany,an  English  corporation  organized 
in  1870,  and  which  had  purchased  a  body  of  land  deposits  on 
North  and  South  Wimbee  creeks,  known  asKean's  Neck,  engag- 
ed in  both  land  and  river  mining. 

It  received,  as  has  been  mentioned,  a  grant  from  the  Marine 
and  River  Company  to  mine  in  the  neighboring  streams,  but 
having  raised  the  claim  that  North  Wimbee  Creek  was  not  a 
navigable  stream,  that,  therefore,  the  riparian  rights  of  the  com- 
pany extended  to  the  middle  of  the  stream  and  that  the  rock 
mined  therefrom  was  not  subject  to  royalty,  and  no  rovalty 
having  been  paid  in  1873  and  1874,  the  question  was  carried  into 
the  courts  by  the  State  and  a  decision  obtained  adverse  to  the 
claims  of  the  company. 

The  Act  of  1876,  by  which  the  Coosaw  Company  had  benefited, 
conferred  on  all  other  companies  and  persons  then  engaged  in 
mining  under  authority  from  the  State  exclusive  rights  to  the 
territory  in  which  their  operations  had  been  carried  on  previous 
to  the  passage  of  the  Act,  ten  days  after  that  date  being  allowed 
for  the  acceptance  of  the  terms  offered. 

The  Oak  Point  Mines  Company  at  once  accepted  the  terms  of 
the  Act  and  claimed  the  exclusive  rights  granted  thereby. 

The  Act  of  1876  was  the  nearest  approach  made  by  the  State 
to  a  proper  subdivision  of  its  territory,  but  having  been  too  long 
postponed  and  the  general  rights  system  being  retained  practi- 
cally in  all  the  streams  save  those  occupied  by  the  Coosaw  and 
Oak  Point  companies,  the  plan  was  exceedingly  defective  and  to 
that  extent  failed  to  subserve  the  interests  of  the  State. 

THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  RIVER  INDUSTRY. 
The  Marine  and  River  Company,  after  enduring  many  vicissi- 
tudes and    reorganizations,    ceased   operations   in    1882.     It   had 


never  been  profitable  to  its  stockholders  and  the  efforts  made 
under  its  last  reorganization  were  fraught  with  disaster  to  many. 

The  Coosaw  Company,  in  the  meanwhile,  after  an  initial  period 
of  disappointment  and  threatened  disaster  had  been  reorgan- 
ized and,  by  extremely  skilful  management,  had  so  successfully 
utilized  the  magnificent  deposits  embraced  in  its  grant  as  to 
have  proven  a  bonanza  to  its  stockholders  as  well  as  to  the  State. 

Of  the  3,123,550  tons  of  rock  that  had  been  shipped  by  the 
river  companies  up  to  the  eiid  of  1894  the  Coosaw  Company  had 
produced  about  I,5CX),000  tons,  or  nearly  one-half. 

The  following  table,  giving  the  production  of  river  rock  by 
years,  shows  more  clearly  and  concisely  than  would  be  possible 
in  words  the  rapid  growth  of  the  river  industry  from  its  inception 
in  1870  to  its  culmination  in  1893  and  1894,  after  which  time  the 
results  of  the  almost  criminally  senseless  policy  of  the  State  to- 
wards the  Coosaw  Company,  with  the  attendant  litigation  and 
the  disastrous  effects  of  the  cyclone  of  1893,  became  fully  opera- 
tive, and  brought  about  the  rapid  decline  and  practical  ruin  of 
this  branch  of  the  industry. 

TABLE  OF  SHIPMENTS  OF  RIVER  ROCK  FROM 
1870  to  1894. 

(Years  ending  September  i.) 

Tons. 
1870 1,989 

1871 17,655 

1872 22,502 

1873 45,777 

1874- ••••  57,716 

1875 67,969 

1876 81,912 

1877 126,560 

1878 97,700 

1879 98,586 

1880 65,163 

1 88 1 124,541 

1882 140,773 

1883 129,318 

1884 151,243 

1885 171,671 

1886 191, 174 

1887 202,757 

1888 190,274 


56 

1889 212, I02 

1890 237, ISO 

189I 169,293 

1 892 I  56,095 

1893    249,339 

1894 1 14,282 

Total 3,123,550 

In  the  meanwhile,  besides  the  four  companies  mentioned 
above,  other  companies  and  individuals  had  been  attracted  by 
the  opportunities  offered  by  river  mining.  It  is  impracticable  in 
this  sketch  to  do  more  than  mention  the  companies  of  a  more 
or  less  permanent  character. 

Some  of  the  individual  miners  received  licenses  from  the  State 
and  paid  their  own  royalties.  Most  of  them,  however,  including 
all  the  small  operators,  worked  under  permits  from  the  licensed 
companies,  their  production  being  sold  to  these  companies,  and 
the  royalty  thereon  paid  by  them. 

Amongst  the  companies  may  be  mentioned,  (with  their  fields 
of  operation),  the  following: 

Palmetto  Phosphate  Company — Ashley  and  Wando  rivers. 

Farmer's  Phosphate  Company — Bull  and  Coosaw  rivers. 

Sea  Island  Chemical   Company — Johnson  and   Beaufort  rivers. 

Carolina  Mining  Company — Broad,  Johnson,  Morgan,  Bull  and 
Coosaw  rivers. 

Beaufort  Phosphate  Company — Beaufort  and  Coosaw  rivers. 

In  1890  the  Coosaw,  Sea  Island  and  Oak  Point  Mines  com- 
panies were  consolidated  under  the  name  of  the  Coosaw  Com- 
pany, the  object  being  partly  a  reduction  of  general  expenses, 
but  more  especially  a  termination  of  the  excessive  competition 
which  had  brought  great  loss  to  all  and  was  threatening  to  neces- 
sitate an  early  shut-down. 

THE  COOSAW  LITIGATION. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  litigation  between  the  State 
and  the  Coosaw  Company. 

The  original  grant  of  twenty-one  years,  received  by  this  com- 
pany from  the  Marine  and  River  Company,  was  to  expire  in  1891. 
The  company  claimed  that  the  Act  of  1876  had  removed  this 
limitation  and  given  it  a  practically  perpetual  charter,  con- 
ditioned only  on  the  prompt  payment  of  the  royalty  of  one 
dollar  per  ton,  a  condition  which  it  had  always  fulfilled  promptly. 

The  question    had   been    carefully    investigated    by    Attorney 


57 

General  Conner  in  1877,  and  in  an  extremely  interesting  and 
valuable  report  on  the  subject  he  gave  the  opinion  that  the  claim 
to  perpetual  rights  was  baseless. 

On  the  expiration  of  the  original  grant,  in  1891,  the  State 
carried  the  matter  into  the  Courts  and,  after  prolonged  litigation, 
gained  its  cause  and  threw  the  territory  open  to  the  general 
rights  miners. 

While,  under  the  decisions  of  the  Courts,  the  State  was  en- 
tirely within  its  rights  in  pursuing  this  course,  the  folly  of  the 
step  is  and  was  equally  clear,  that  is,  so  far  as  her  true  interests 
were  concerned. 

The  causes  of  the  action  thus  taken  are  not  far  to  seek.  The 
Coosaw  Company  after  its  first  reorganization,  as  has  been  said, 
had  developed  a  comprehensive  and  efficient  system  of  mining 
and  preparation  by  means  of  an  expensive  plant  and  athoroughl}^ 
ordered  force  of  employees,  whom  it  had  made  devoted  to  its 
interests. 

It  had  been  compelled  to  start  practically  ab  initio,  devising 
costly  machinery,  experimenting  with  it  and  adapting  it  to 
the  service  required.  It  had  mined  its  territory  systematically 
and,  expecting  to  retain  permanent  control  thereof,  had  worked 
it  so  as  to  economize  the  deposits  and  thus  increase  the  revenue 
to  be  derived  by  the  State. 

The  company  had,  it  is  true,  received  very  large  returns  on  its 
investment,  but,  as  has  already  been  stated,  it  had  at  the  same 
time  paid  the  State  in  royalties  as  much  as  the  latter  had  received 
from  all  other  operators  combined.  In  a  word,  the  history  of 
the  company  had  been  an  ample  justification  of  the  privileges  it 
had  enjoyed,  and  a  striking  testimony  to  the  superiority  of  the 
exclusive  rights  system  over  the  general  rights  system  in  force 
elsewhere. 

The  impression,  produced  by  the  great  financial  success  of  the 
company,  that  the  deposits  in  Coosaw  River  had  been  originally 
almost  unlimited,  and  that  there  was  consequently  a  large  supply 
remaining  therein,  together  with  the  gradual  exhaustion  of  the 
open  territory,  had  led  the  outside  miners  to  look  with  longing 
eyes  on  the  forbidden  land. 

The  assurances  of  the  Coosaw  Company  to  the  contrary  were 
considered  false.  Its  statements,  that  the  bulk  of  the  better  de- 
posits had  been  exhausted,  that  though  there  was  still  remain- 
ing a  considerable  body  of  rock,  it  was  of  poorer  quality  and 
much  of  it  contaminated  with  marl,  that  what  was  left  of  the 
good  rock  was  in  more  or  less  isolated  and  small  beds,  in  a  word. 


58 

that  at  no  time  in  its  history  had  there  been  more  need  of  the 
systematic  efforts  of  a  single  operator,  were  all  held  to  be  only 
desperate  attempts  to  retain,  by  plausible  and  baseless  arguments, 
a  rich  and  desirable  monopoly,  and  were  disregarded. 

The  opinions  of  men  of  high  character,  who  could  have  con- 
firmed the  statements  of  the  Coosaw  Company,  were  not  desired. 
Indeed  a  letter  of  this  character  written  by  one  of  the  leading 
expert  authorities  of  the  State  to  the  Governor  was  pigeon-holed 
by  him  and  saw  the  light  some  time  afterwards  only  by  publica- 
tion by  the  friends  of  the  company. 

Disregarded,  also,  were  the  recent  discoveries  of  phosphates 
of  various  grades  in  Florida,  in  supposedly  unlimited  quantities 
and  producible  at  a  minimum  of  cost. 

That  the  danger  threatened  thereby  to  the  phosphate  industry 
of  South  Carolina  seemed  so  great,  that  it  had  been  deemed 
advisable  to  send  the  Special  Phosphate  Assistant  to  visit  the 
new  discoveries,  and  that  his  report  had  shown  that  there  was 
serious  cause  for  alarm,  were  matters  of  no  consequence. 

The  influences  at  work,  together  with  the  political  necessities 
of  unscrupulous  demagogism,  were  too  strong  and  prevailed  over 
the  interests  of  the  State. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1890  passed  an  act  creating  a  board 
of  phosphate  commissioners,  who  were  directed,  on  the  expira- 
tion of  the  original  Coosaw  grant,  March  i,  1891,  to  take  charge 
of  the  company's  territory,  to  issue  licenses  to  mine  therein, 
and  to  enjoin  all  parties  interfering  with  them  or  attempting  to 
mine  without  their  license. 

The  Act  further  provided  that  rock  mined  by  such  parties 
should  be  considered  the  property  of  the  State  and  suits  entered 
into  to  recover  it;  that  all  boats,  vessels,  dredges  or  other  appli- 
ances used  in  such  mining  should  be  confiscated,  that  the  officers 
of  such  companies  should  be  subject  to  fine  and  imprisonment, 
and  that  the  State  should  not  be  required  to  give  bond  in  any 
such  case  it  might  be  compelled  to  bring. 

On  March  i,  1891,  the  Coosaw  Company,  in  view  of  the  drastic 
nature  of  the  penalties  imposed  by  the  Act,  and  unable  to  apply 
for  a  license,  as  such  action  would  have  been  a  virtual  surrender 
of  the  perpetual  rights  it  claimed  to  possess,  suspended  its  opera- 
tions. 

A  proposition  made  by  the  company  to  continue  work,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners,  until  the  matter 
should  be  decided  in  the  Courts,  without  prejudice  to  the  rights 


59 

of  either  party,  was  rejected  by  the  State,  without  any  regard  to 
the  necessary  consequences  of  such  rejection. 

The  works  of  the  company  were  at  once  closed  down  and  re- 
mained so  until  April  of  the  following  year. 

The  Carolina  Mining  Company  and  the  Farmers'  Mining  Com- 
pany received  licenses  from  the  board  and  entered  the  territory, 
but  were  at  once  served  with  injunctions  obtained  from  the 
United  States  Court  by  the  Coosaw  Company  and  compelled  to 
suspend  operations. 

CONSEQUENCES  OF  THE  LITIGATION. 

The  loss  of  royalty  to  the  State  was  very  great,  the  damage  to 
the  company  even  greater.  In  addition  to  the  loss  of  its  earn- 
ings, it  had  to  sustain  the  heavy  expense  of  maintaining  a  large 
amount  of  valuable  property  subject  to  rapid  deterioration  when 
not  in  use. 

Burdensome  as  these  things  were,  they  were  as  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  loss  of  market  that  followed  the  suspension.  The 
Florida  river  pebble  deposits  had  been  in  operation  for  some 
years  before  the  discovery  of  the  hard  rock  and  land  pebble 
phosphates  of  that  state.  The  grade  of  this  Peace  River  pebble 
was  a  little  higher  than  that  of  the  Carolina  river  rock,  of  which 
it  was  a  serious  competitor. 

Up  to  the  time  in  question  the  high  reputation  that  the  latter 
rock  had  earned  in  Europe,  together  with  some  slight  advantages 
in  shipping,  had  enabled  it  to  retain  the  field,  and  the  Florida 
rock  had  not  been  able  to  make  any  serious  inroads  upon  it. 

The  stoppage  of  the  Carolina  supply,  of  which  the  Coosaw 
Company  had  been  the  main  producer,  forced  European  con- 
sumers to  supply  their  wants  with  the  Florida  product,  and  their 
experience  therewith  was  so  satisfactory  that  the  preference 
which  the  Carolina  rock  had  enjoyed  was  forever  lost.  The 
higher  grade  of  the  Florida  rock,  its  cheaper  cost  of  production 
and  heavy  output  were  suflficient  to  retain  the  foothold  that  had 
been  gained,  and  the  ground  lost  by  the  Carolina  industry  was 
never  recovered. 

The  Coosaw  Company  resumed  operations  in  April  1862,  mining 
for  a  time  in  Mud  Creek,  a  non-navigable  stream,  under  an 
arrangement  with  the  owners  thereof.  No  royalty,  of  course, 
accrued  to  the  State  on  this  rock. 

Later,  the  company  accepted  the  situation  and,  with  the  other 
companies  which  had  taken  out  licenses  to  mine  therein,  again 
entered  its  former  territory  and  began  an  energetic  struggle  to  re- 
gain a  part,  at  least,  of  the  lost  trade. 


60 

Its  efforts  in  this  regard  were  paralyzed  by  the  disastrous 
effects  of  the  cyclone  of  August  31,  i8q3,  which  practically 
destroyed  the  plants  of  all  the  companies,  and  compelled  them 
to  apply  to  the  Board  of  Phosphate  Commissioners  for  relief,  in 
the  shape  of  a  reduction  of  the  royalty  to  fifty  cents  per  ton  ; 
and  they  agreed  that  if  this  reduction  were  granted,  they  would 
rebuild  their  plants  and  renew  their  operations. 

The  petition,  refused  by  the  Board,  was  granted  by  the  Legis- 
lature in  December  of  the  same  year,  and  work  was  again  started 
on  January  i,  1894.  The  royalty  was  fixed  at  a  minimum  of 
50   cents    per  ton,    with    a  rising   scale  based  on  increased  prices. 

The  consequences  of  the  four  months'  delay,  however,  had 
been  very  serious.  Uncertain  as  to  the  action  of  the  Legislature, 
they  had  not  only  lost  the  four  months'  work,  but  had  been  un- 
able to  make  contracts  for  future  deliveries,  and  so  what  little 
ground  had  been  regained  was  again  in  control  of  their  com- 
petitors. 

The  consequence  of  this  condition  of  things  was  such  a  great 
reduction  in  prices  that,  in  1895,  the  State  Phosphate  Inspector 
stated  in  his  annual  report  that  the  companies  were  selling  at 
a  loss,  and  recommended  a  further  reduction  of  royalty  to  twenty- 
five  cents.     The  recommendation  was  disregarded. 

The  Carolina  Mining  Company  was  forced  to  the  wall,  and  its 
property  was  sold  piecemeal  and  scattered. 

In  1896  additional  competition  from  Tennessee  and  Algiers 
forced  the  companies  to  make  another  appeal  to  the  Board  of 
Commissioners.  The  Board,  after  obtaining  the  necessary  au- 
thority from  the  Legislature,  made  the  reduction  asked  for,  but 
nullified  its  action  by  refusing  to  apply  the  reduction  to  the 
large  stocks  of  rock  on  hand,  in  spite  of  notice  from  the  Coosaw 
Company,  which  was  the  largest  holder  of  such  rock,  that  such 
refusal  would  necessitate  a  cessation  of  their  operations,  which 
followed  in  May,  1897. 

In  February  1898.  the  works  were  again  started  up  and  kept 
in  operation  until  March  1902,  when  the  struggle  against  the 
adverse  conditions  prevailing  was  decided  to  be  hopeless,  and 
the  plant  was  closed  down,  dismantled  and  sold. 

It  is  difficult  to  consider  with  patience  the  senseless  folly  of 
the  course  that  precipitated  this  final  outcome.  Granted  that 
the  same  result  would  have  followed  in  time,  in  the  natural 
course  of  events,  still  the  end  would  have  been  materially  de- 
layed by  a  different  course  of  action,  and  the  financial  results  to 
the  State  have  been  materially  larger.     For,  it  must  be    remem- 


61 

bered,  the  whole  Coosaw  claim  rested,  admittedly,  on  the  pay- 
ment of  the  dollar  royalty,  and  had  it  been  allowed  to  continue 
undisturbed,  the  company  would  have  been  compelled  to  strain 
every  nerve  to  meet  this  payment,  with,  of  course,  a  much  larger 
return  to  the  State. 

The  Farmer's  Mining  Company,  in  1897,  became  involved  in 
the  failure  of  other  parties,  and  was  ultimately  sold  to  the  Cen- 
tral Phosphate  Company,  which  is  still  operating  it,  and  which 
since  the  comparatively  recent  destruction  by  fire  of  the  dredge 
of  the  Beaufort  Phosphate  Company,  is  the  solitary  surviving 
important  operator  in  this  once  busy  territory. 

Since  the  first  appearance  of  this  article  the  Central  Phos- 
phate Company  has  discontinued  operations.  It  recently  made 
an  ofler  to  the  State  authorities  to  exploit  some  of  the  marsh 
deposits  adjoining  Coosaw  River,  conditioned  on  a  reduction  of 
the  royalty.  The  reduction  having  been  refused,  no  further 
steps,  as   far  as    can   be   learned,  have    been  taken  in  the  matter. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  LAND  INDUSTRY. 

The  development  of  the  land  companies  was  rapid  and  im- 
portant from  the  beginning  of  the  industry,  but  being  all  prac- 
tically private  enterprises,  they  were  less  in  the  public  eye,  and 
offer  less  material  for  description. 

The  great  importance  of  the  Charleston  Mining  Company  has 
already  been  alluded  to.  especially  the  success  that  had  attended 
its  efforts  to  gather  a  large  and  compact  body  of  rich  and  shallow 
■phosphate  lands.  The  enterprise  speedily  became  profitable  and 
remained  so  until  a  change  of  management  in  1891  or  1892 
brought  about  a  new  state  of  affairs. 

The  new  management  was,  unfortunately  for  the  company, 
composed  of  men  ignorant  of  the  phosphate  business,  and  who, 
while  thus  unhampered  by  the  prejudices  of  experience,  were 
equally  unfamiliar  with  its  lessons  and  results. 

Carried  away  by  wild  opinions  as  to  the  dangers  threatened 
to  the  value  of  their  property — though  of  its  real  value,  indeed, 
they  could  have  had  but  a  very  hazy  idea— by  the  recent  Florida 
developments,  and  disregarding  the  advice  of  the  experienced 
and  skillful  management  which  had  been  in  successful  conduct 
of  the  business  of  the  company  for  so  many  years,  they  thought 
they  had  found  a  panacea  for  their  anticipated  troubles  in  a 
cheapening  of  the  cost  of  production  by  the  abandonment  of 
their  old  plant  at  Lamb's,  and  the  erection  of  a  new,  larger  and 
more  costly  one  on  the  Fetteressa  plantation  at  Bee's  Ferry. 


62 

Needless  to  relate,  the  conditions  neither  required  nor  justified 
this  step,  the  most  prominent  result  of  which  was  the  conversion 
of  a  large  surplus  into  a  bonded  debt  of  the  same  amount,  and 
only  the  great  intrinsic  value  of  the  property  prevented  disaster 
in  the  more  or  less  critical  years  that  followed. 

Ultimately,  in  1901,  it  was  sold  to  the  Virginia-Carolina 
Chemical  Company,  which  is  now  operating  it.  A  strong  com- 
mentary on  the  action  of  the  former  management  is  furnished 
by  the  fact  that  the  present  owners  have  found  it  advisable,  the 
Fetteressa  plant  being  in  need  of  heavy  repairs,  to  dismantle  it 
and  return  to  the  former  location,  where  they  have  just  com- 
pleted the  erection  of  the  largest  phosphate  plant  in  the  world, 
the  capacity  of  its  washers  being  1,200  tons  per  day. 

Of  the  numerous  land  mines  which  have  been  operated  at 
various  times  it  is  only  practicable  to  give  here  a  list  of  some  of 
the  more  prominent.     Amongst  these  have  been  the  following: 

Pacific  Guano  Company,  Chisolm's  Island. 

Oak  Point  Mines  Company,  Kean's  Neck. 

Horse  Shoe  Mines,  Ashepoo  region. 

Pon-Pon  Mines,  Edisto  region. 

Bulow  Mines,  near  Stono  River. 

St.  Andrew's  Mines,  near  Stono  River. 

Bolton  Mines,  on  Stono  River. 

Cherokee  Mines,  Ashley  River. 

Pinckney  Mines,  Ashley  River. 

Drayton  Mines,  Ashley  River. 

Pinckney  Mines,  Ashley  River. 

Gregg  Mines,  Ashley  River. 

Millbrook  Mines,  Ashley  River. 

Mount  Holly  Mines,  Mount  Holly. 

Of  these  the  Bulow  and  Pinckney  properties  are  the  only  two 
that  are  being  operated  as  entirely  independent  concerns. 

The  Bolton  Mine,  while  operated  by  its  owners  or  lessees,  sells 
its  whole  output  to  the  Virginia-Carolina  Chemical  Company. 

The  other  mines  have  for  the  most  part  been  purchased  by  the 
same  company,  the  few  exceptions  having  been  either  exhausted 
or  shut  down. 

THE  FERTILIZER  COMPANIES. 

The  Wando  Fertilizer  Company,  as  has  been  stated,  proceeded 
at  once  to  utilize  the  new  material  in  its  manufacture. 

It  was  not  long  left  in  sole  possession  of  the  field.  On  May 
26,    1868,    a   charter   was     applied    for    in    the    name    of     "The 


63 

Sulphuric  Acid  and  Superphosphate  Company,"  the  distinctive 
purpose  of  v/hich  was  to  make  the  sulphuric  acid  to  be  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  superphosphates. 

On  its  acid  chamber,  the  first  to  be  erected  south  of  Baltimore, 
work  was  begun  August  21,  1868.  The  location  selected  for  the 
work  was  on  Town  Creek,  near  the  Cooper  River,  on  the  spot 
where  the  John  Adams,  the  first  frigate  of  the  United  States 
navy,  was  built,  and  which  was  subsequently  the  site  of  the 
Confederate  navy  ship  yard.  Here  on  December  8,  1868,  the 
first  sulphuric  acid  produced  in  Charleston  was  made.  A  second 
set  of  chambers  was  soon  added,  the  two  sets  having  a  capacity 
of  i8o,coo  cubic  feet,  and  consuming  7,200  pounds  of  sulphur  per 
tvventy-four  hours.  One  of  the  chambers  of  the  second  set  was 
140  by  30  by  25  feet,  and  at  the  time  was  the  largest  single  cham- 
ber in  the  United  States. 

This  plant  was  known  as  the  ''Etiwan  Works,"  a  name  which 
was  subsequently  assumed  by  the  company,  which  was  capitalized 
at  $350,000. 

The  Trade  Review  of  Charleston,  (published  in  1873,  by  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce),  shows  that  at  that  time  the  number  of 
factories  had  been  increased    to  six,  namely: 

Wando  Company. 

Sulphuric  Acid  and  Superphosphate  Company. 

Pacific  Guano  Company, 

Stono  Company. 

Wappoo  Mills  (J.  B.  Sardy's). 

Atlantic  Company. 

The  Wando  Company,  formed  in  June,  1867,  had  begun  work, 
it  w^ill  be  remembered,  in  November  of  the  same  year,  its  factory 
being  located  in  the  city,  and  its  sulphuric  acid  supply  imported 
from  the  North.  The  city  plant  proving  insufficient,  a  new 
factory  and  acid  chamber  were  erected  at  the  mines,  convenient 
to  the  rock  supply.  The  works  were  subsequently  removed  to  a 
site  on  the  Ashley  River  about  five  miles  from  the  city.  The 
capital  stock  of  the  company  was  $300,000.  The  works  ultimately 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Virginia-Carolina  Chemical  Com- 
pany. 

The  Sulphuric  Acid  and  Superphosphate  Company  has  already 
been  described. 

The  Pacific  Guano  Company  started  operations  in  September, 
1869.  It  operated  its  own  mines,  on  Chisolm's  Island,  for  many 
years,  and  in  the  Edisto  region,  not  far  from  Jacksonboro,  for  a 
comparatively    short    time.      Its  fertilizer   and    acid    plant  were 


64 

located  near  the  city,  just  above  the  forks  of  the  road.  Its 
capital  stock  was  $1,000,000.  It  had  a  successful  and  eventful 
career,  being  finally  involved  in  the  failure  of  the'  Boston  com- 
pany, of  which  it  was"  an  offshoot. 

The  Atlantic  Company,  located  on  Ashley  River,  was  started 
in  December  1870,  with  $200,000  capital.  It  proved  one  of  the 
most  successful  of  the  companies,  and  was  ultimately  sold  to 
the  Virginia-Carolina  Chemical  Company. 

The  Stono  Company,  also  on  Ashley  River,  had  a  capital  stock 
of  $160,000.  and  commenced  operations  in  December,  1870. 
Though  not  so  largely  developed,  ultimately,  as  the  Atlantic 
works,  its  career  was  very  similar  to  that  of  the  latter  company 
and  its  ending  was  the  same. 

J.  B.  Sardy  mined  in  the  Ashepoo  region.  His  factory, 
Wappoo  Mills,  was  located  on  Ashley  River  and  Wappoo  Cut, 
opposite  Charleston.  It  afterward  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Capt.  C.  C.  Pinckney,  who  operated  it  for  many  years  as  an  acid 
phosphate  mill,  the  only  one  ever  operated  strictly  as  such  in 
the  State.  It  is  now  the  property  of  the  Virginia-  Carolina 
Company.  , 

An  idea  of  the  early  activity  of  these  works  is  given  by  the  fact 
that  up  to  July  I,  1872,  their  acid  plants  had  produced  10,614 
tons  of  sulphuric  acid,  valued  at  over  $350,000.  They  had 
consumed  36,610  tons  of  rock  and  shipped  87,406  tons  of  fertilizer. 

The  figures  for  the  amounts  of  acid  produced  and  rocks  con- 
sumed are  interesting  as  showing  the  rather  chary  use  of  acid  at 
the  time, less  than  one-third  of  the  amount  now  generall)'  employ- 
ed. 

ANALYSES  OF  EARLY  PRODUCTS. 

The  following  analyses,  made  during  the  years  1869-71,  are 
of  interest,  as  showing  the  quality  of  the  goods  manufactured  at 
that  time. 

It  must  be  remembered,  in  this  connection,  that  for  the  first 
two  or  three  years  no  value  was  placed  on  reverted  phosphoric 
acid,  and  it  was  not  determined. 

ANALYSIS  OF  FERTILIZER. 
(Average  of  7  Analyses.) 

Soliible  phosphoric  acid 3- 5^ 

Insoluble  phosphoric  acid 10. 17 

Total  phosphoric  acid 13-73 

Ammonia.  .  .  ,  ,  , ^  r,  ^ 2.45 


r 


Philip  E.  Chazal,   E.  M. 


65 

In  the  seven  analyses  averaged  above,  the  soluble  phosphoric 
acid  varied  from  2.19  per  cent,  to  4.44  per  cent.  In  four  of  the 
samples  moisture  was  determined,  the  average  being  20,19  per 
cent.,  and  the  range  from  18.28  per  cent,  to  21.80  per  cent. 

FERTILIZERS  MADE  IN   1871. 

I.         II.  III. 

p.  c.  p.  c.  p.  c. 

Phosphoric  acid,  soluble 4. 12       5.70  2.94 

Phosphoric  acid,  reverted 2.60      2.47  1.76 

Phosphoric  acid,  available 6.72      8,17       4.70 

Phosphoric   acid,  insoluble 6.55      6.09       9.24 

Phosphoric  acid,  total 13-27     14-26     13.94 

Amnjoiiia 3.09      326       2.22 

ACID  PHOSPHATE  WITH   POTASH  (1871). 

P.  C. 

Phosphoric  acid,  soluble 994 

Phosphoric  acid,  reverted 2.00 

Phosphoric  acid,    available 1 1.94 

Phosphoric  acid,  insoluble 4. 1 1 

Phosphoric  acid,  total 16.05 

Potash 1. 21 

SUPERPHOSPHATES,  (1871). 

I.  II. 

P.  C.  P.  C. 

Phosphoric  acid,    soluble 4- 50  8.79 

Phosphoric  acid,  reverted 4.23  1.96 

Phosphoric  acid,    available 8.73  10.75 

Phosphoric  acid,  insoluble 8.64  3.88 

Phosphoric  acid,  total 17-37  H-^? 

It  was    about  this    time    that    so-called  "complete  fertilizers" 
were  first  made,  the  analysis  of  one  of  which  was  as  follows: 


66 


P.  C. 

Phosphoric  acid,  soluble 6.06 

Phosphoric  acid ,  reverted 2.00 

Phosphoric  acid,   available 8.06 

Phosphoric  acid,  insoluble 4.47 

Phosphoric  acid  total 12.53 

Ammonia.      3.00 

Potash 1.50 

At  the  period  represented  by  the  above  analyses,  the  strength 
of  the  acid  usually  employed  was  40°  B.  to  42°  B.,  and  it  is 
therefore  not  surprising  that,  with  the  increased  amount  and 
strength  of  acid  employed  at  the  present  time,  modern  pro- 
ducts yield,  in  round  numbers,  three  times  the  amount  of  soluble 
phosphoric  acid  and  only  one-third  the  amount  of  insoluble 
obtained  in  the  older  manufacture. 

The  progress  so  happily  begun,  was  continued.  As  the  years 
went  on  and  the  demand  for  fertilizers  increased,  the  old  com- 
panies enlarged  their  plants,  and  new  ones  were  added  to  the 
list,  two  of  which  were  erected  at  Beaufort  and  Port  Royal.  A 
list  in  the  Trade  Review  of  The  News  and  Courier  for  1880-84 
shows  that  all  the  original  companies,  except  the  Sardy  plant, 
were  in  operation  and  in  addition  gives  the  following  new  names : 

Ashepoo  Phosphate  Company,  capital  $100,000,  Ashley  River. 

Edisto  Phosphate  Company,  capital  $200,000,  Cooper  River. 

Ashley  Phosphate  Company,  capital  $100,000,  Ashley  River. 

Charleston  Phosphate  Company,  capital  $50,000,  Ashley  River. 

Wilcox  &  Gibbes,  manipulators,  city. 

Hume  Bros.  Phosphate  Company,  capital  $500,000,  near 
Beaufort. 

Port  Royal  Phosphate  Company,  capital  $100,000,  near  Port 
Royal. 

Later  on  the  following  companies  were  added  to  the  list  in 
Charleston. 

Berkeley  Phosphate  Company. 

Imperial  Fertilizer  Company. 

Chicora  Fertilizer  Company. 

Royal  Fertilizer  Company,  afterwards  known  as  the  Standard 
Phosphate  Company. 

Read  Phosphate  Company. 


67 

The  Beaufort.  County  companies  changed  their  owners  and 
were  enlarged  and  known  as  the  Hammond,  Hull  &  Co.,  and 
Baldwin  Works. 

The  Etiwan  Works  which  had  discontinued  operations  for 
several  years,  passed,  ultimately,  into  the  hands  of  a  new  set 
of  owners,  who,  putting  them  in  complete  order,  made  a  fresh 
start,  under  the  old  name,  in  April,  1900. 

Outside  of  Charleston  and  Beaufort  the  records  of  the  com- 
panies established  and  their  outputs  are  apparently  inaccessible, 
and  only  the  principal  ones  can  be  mentioned,  as  follows: 

Georgia  Chemical  Works,  Pon-Pon. 

Columbia  Phosphate  Company,  Columbia. 

Globe  Phosphate  Company,  Columbia. 

Royster  Guano  Company,  Columbia. 

Darlington  Fertilizer  Company,  Darlington. 

Anderson  Oil  and  Fertilizer  Company,  Anderson. 

Greenville  Fertilizer  Company,  Greenville. 

Blacksburg  Company,  Blacksburg. 

It  would  be  interesting  and  instructive,  when  viewed  in  the 
light  of  subsequent  developments,  to  sketch  the  history  of  the 
fertilizer  interests  of  the  State;  to  show  that,  from  the  modest 
beginnings  of  1867,  the  shipments  of  Charleston  alone  had  reached 
100,000  tons  in  1881,  261,650  tons  in  1890,  and  437,138  tons,  the 
high  water  mark,  in  1898;  to  give  an  account  of  the  periods  of 
depression  and  prosperity  and  to  study  the  causes  producing 
them;  to  follow  the  companies  in  their  futile  efforts  to  arrive  at 
some  plan  of  mutual  co-operation,  if  not  of  combination,  and 
the  final  absorption  of  many  of  them  by  the  Virginia-Carolina 
Chemical  Company. 

Even  if  the  limits  of  this  article  permitted,  it  seems  advisable 
not  to  attempt  such  a  presentation  at  the  present  time,  but  to 
close  the  account,  as  so  far  given,  with  a  list  of  the  works  now 
in  operation  in  the  State  by  the  independent  companies  and  the 
Virginia-Carolina  Chemical  Company. 

The  list,  with  the  estimated  capacity  of  each  company,  as 
nearly  as  could  be  ascertained,  is  as  follows: 

INDEPENDENT    COMPANIES. 

Tons, 

Ashepoo  Fertilizer  Companv,  Charleston 55, 000 

Etiwan  Fertilizer  Company, Charleston 30,000 

Read  Phosphate  Company,  Charleston 30,000 


68 

F,  S.  Royster  Guano  Company,  Columbia 30,000 

Anderson  Oil  and  Fertilizer  Company,  Anderson 26,000 

Total  capacity,  tons 171,000 

To  these  must  be  added  the  following  manipulating  companies, 
which,  having  no  acid  plants,  purchase  their  supplies  of  acid 
phosphate ; 

The  W.  C.  MacMurphy  Company,  Charleston. 

Combahee  Fertilizer  Company,  Charleston. 

Spartanburg  Fertilizer  Company,  Spartanburg. 

Anderson  Phosphate  and  Oil  Company,  Seneca. 

It  is  estimated  that  these  companies  have  a  capacity  to  pre- 
pare and  ship,  over  and  above  their  acid  phosphate  purchases, 
say  20,500  tons  of  goods. 

Together  the  independent  companies  have  a  capacity  of  191,500 
tons,  an  amount  equal  to  a  little  less  than  60  per  cent,  of  the  re- 
quirements of  the  State,  which  last  year  amounted  to  about 
325,000  tons. 

VIRGINIA-CAROLINA  CHEMICAL  COMPANY. 

Tons. 

Atlantic  Works,  Charleston 35 ,000 

Chicora  Works,  Charleston 35, 000 

Imperial  Works,  Charleston 35, 000 

Standard  Works,  Charleston 70,000 

Stono  Works,  Charleston ...  30,000 

Wando  Works,  Charleston 25,000 

Ashley  Works,  near  Charleston 20,000 

Georgia  Chemical  Works    Pon-Pon 30,000 

Baldwin  Works,  Port  Royal 36,000 

Columbia  Works,  Columbia 15,000 

Globe  Works,  Columbia 18,000 

Greenville  Works,  Greenville 16,000 

Blacksburg  Works,  Blacksburg 12,000 

Total  capacity,  tons 377,000 

TOTAL  CAPACITY  IN  STATE. 

Independent  companies 171,000 

Manipulating  companies, 20,500 

Virginia-Carolina  Chemical  Company, 377,000 

Total  capacity 568,500 


69 

CONCLUSION. 

Although  the  story  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  South  Car- 
olina phosphate  industry  is  a  more  than  "thrice  told  tale",  its 
full  and  detailed  history  is  yet  to  be  written. 

In  the  preceding  sketch  an  effort  has  been  made  to  present  only 
the  more  prominent  facts  connected  with  the  subject  in  all 
its  branches. 

Lack  of  space  is  responsible  for  many  omissions,  the  most 
conspicuous  of  which  is  the  story  of  the  men  whose  knowledge, 
energy  and  skill  built  up,  advanced  and  successfully  developed 
this  great  work,  which  was  the  salvation  of  the  low-country  of 
South  Carolina,  and  to  whom  the  State  is  even  more  indebted 
than  to  the  distinguished  scientists  who  opened  the  way  to  them. 

Though  much  has  been  written  in  times  gone  by  on  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  this  article,  but  little  of  it  is  in  accessible  form, 
and  an  important  part  of  even  the  brief  description  here  present- 
ed has  been  rendered  possible  only  by  the  kindness  of  Professor 
Charles  U.  Shepard,  Jr.,  in  putting  at  the  disposal  of  the  writer 
manuscript  notes,  made  many  years  since,  which  embody  some 
of  the  early  results  of  the  varied  and  extensive  labors  which 
made  Professor  Shepard  the  foremost  authority  on  phosphates 
in  this  country. 

Except  where  otherwise  credited  the  analyses  given  or  re- 
ferred to  in  this  article  were  made  by  Professor  Shepard  or  his  as- 
sistants in  his  Laboratory  for  Analytical  Chemistry,  or  by  its 
successor,  the  Shepard  Laboratory. 

Philip  E.  Chazal,  E.  M. 
Shepard  Laboratory,  Charleston,  S.  C. 


NOTE. 

As  has  been  almost  unavoidable  from  the  way  in  which  the 
necessary  data  had  to  be  obtained,  the  annual  estimates  of  the 
production  and  shipments  of  phosphate  rock  and  fertilizers  made 
by  different  parties  have  at  times  varied  very  widely,  so  much  so 
as  to  make  it  impracticable  to  reconcile  the  differences,  or  decide 
betwe»Mi   them. 

These  statistics  have  not  been  presented  in  the  preceeding 
sketch,  this  branch  of  the  subject  having  been  assigned  for  treat- 
ment to  Major  Edward  Willis,  of  Charleston,  who,  from  the 
inception  of  the  industry,  has  devoted  particular  attention  to 
these  questions,  and  has  prepared  the  annual  statement  thereon 
for  The  News  and  Courier. 


to 

The  following  table  is  taken  from  his  article  as  published  in 
the  Centennial  Edition,  and  is  of  great  interest  as  affording  a  con- 
densed statement  of  the  results  arrived  at  by  him.  For  the  sake 
of  comparison,  there  is  also  given  a  table  showing  the  estimates 
made  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  to,  the  end  of  the 
year  1902  only,  the  writer  having  been  unable  to  obtain  those 
for  1903. 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  PHOSPHATE  INDUSTRY 

of  South    Carolina    land    and    river  rock    mined  and   shipped   to 

foreign  fand  domestic  ports,  tons  consumed,  amount  of 

royalty  paid  to  State  on  river  rock,  and  amount  of 

fertilizers  shipped  annually  from  1867  to  1903. 

(Years  ending  August  31st.) 


Prepared  by  Major  E.  Willis  for  Centennial  edition  of  The  News  &  Courier. 


Years. 


1867, 
1888 
1869. 
1870 
1871, 
1872 
1873 
1874, 
1876 
1876 
1877, 
1878 
1879. 
1880 
1881. 
1882, 
1883. 
1884 
1885, 
1886 
1887. 
1888 
1889. 
1890. 
1^91. 
1892. 
1893. 
1S94. 
1895. 
1896. 
1897 
1898. 
1899. 
1900 
1901. 
1903. 
1903. 


OCQ 

H 
o 


1% 


I  o 

Ctfo  , 


6 

12,362 

31,958 

63,352 

56,533 

36,258 

a3,426 

57,624 

54,821 

50,566 

36,461 

112,622 

100,779 

125,601 

142,193 

191,305 

210,()0t 

250,000 

225,0001 

250,000 

262,000 

275,000 

290,500 

300,000 

375,000 

371,736 

316.456 

339,791 

276,778 

330,837 

322,272 

323,121 

365,165 

292,809 

232,704 

201,638 

242,852 


1,' 

17,655 

22,502 

45,777 

577-" 

67,9 

81,9i2 

126,569 

97,700 

98,586 

65,163 

124,541 

140,722 

180,000 

181,800 

184,000 

195,000 

228,000 

254,000 

220,000 

296,758 

197,949 

176,600 

312,113 

135,498 

154,597 

124,177 

121,846 

86,460 

125,991 

135.753 

93,?i64 

137,281 

127  971 


6 
12,262 
31,958 
65,241 
74,18S 
58,760 
79,203 
109,340 
122,970 
132,478 
163,030 
210,322 
199,365 
190,763 
266,734 
332,077 
378,380 
431,800 
409,000 
445,000 
480,000 
509,000 
510  500 
586,758 
573,949 
648,396 
618,569 
475,194 
431,375 
44.5,004 
434,118 
409,581 
481.076 
438,562 
327,768 
338,819 


7,143,216  4,628,158  11,771,374  4,993,903 


6 

7,500 

19,000 

39,000 

24,805 

19,160 

33,737 

37,820 

32,560 

38,239 

47,500 

68,946 

60,899 

107,348 

157,824 

173,305 

210,000 

20;3,000 

158,000 

203,000 

200,000 

232,483 

308.643 

228,757 

274,083 

179,025 

183,814 

2^8,324 

174,95)0 

225,388 

195,710 

175.389 

223,986 

216,705 

125,357 

101,383 

78,218 


3  600 

7,314 

14,000 

7,108 

12,000 

18,431 

18,980 

20.000 

19.000 

13,600 

17,700 

18,96(« 

2;j,000 

38,900 

42,9;{6 

42,620 

69,7:^3 

67,000 

72,000 

85,000 

89,(J0O 

91,450 

98,000 

102.250 

105,600 

162,300 

152,000 

131,000 

146,000 

162,0(10 

186,000 

164.000 

145,000 

180,000 

164,000 

225,000 


00   o 

t:  ft 

o  a 


4, 
12,8.59 
42  283 
27,600 
27,035 
52,540 
70,546 
75,815 
102,677 
121,746 
119,566 
61.375 
70.66S 
116,832 
123.000 
159,000 
184,000 

iro,oo'> 

195.100 
189,000 
136,000 
219,000 
126,7t8 
12t,459 
178,068 
94,875 
125,o85 
84,616 
76,408 
49,4H3 
89,870 
6f5,347 
24,231 
73,636 
57,605 


1, 

17,655 

22,502 

45,700 

57,716 

67,970 

81,910 

126,.570 

97,700 

98,586 

65,151 

124,541 

140,773 

129,319 

151,243 

171,676 

191,175 

203,757 

225,000 

312,100 

337.149 

185,1)00 

193.461 

249,3;J8 

114,281 

174,400 

121,602 

39,801 

23,522 

39,042 

33,938 

35,521 

25,671 

15,262 


2,918,481  3,452,675  $3,712,062  6,362.191 


^  o8 

SOD  g 


13,822 

14,863 

39,789 

46,265 

22,589 

37,759 

56,298 

46.382 

50,837 

46,443 

45,76ti 

52,000 

60,000 

80,C00 

102,525 

103,490 

130,000 

143,000 

1,50,000 

143,700 

131,901 

183,000 

181,990 

261,650 

287,975 

314,3;« 

325,618 

316,611 

1.59,.526 

357,715 

374,494 

437,138 

333,912 

376,314 

439,378 

361,653 

,356,560 


71 


ESTIMATES  OF  U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY, 

Phosphate  rock  (washed  product)  mined  by  the  land  and  river 
mining  companies  of  South  Carolina. 


Years  ending 

Land  Companies 

River   Companies 

Total 

May  31st. 

Lont^  Tons 

Long  Tons 

Long  Tons 

1867 

6 

12,262 

31,958 

'                63, 252 

6 

1868 

12,262 

18b9            

31,958 

1870 

1,989 

65,241 

1871 

56,533 

17.655 

74,188 

1872 

!                36 ,258 

22. 502 

58,760 

1873 

33 .426 

45,777 

79,203 

1874 

51,624 

57,716 

109, 340 

1875 

1                54.821 

67.969 

122. 790 

1876 

i                50, 566 

81,912 

132, 478 

1877 

i                36, 431 

126,569 

163,000 

1878     

!              112,622 

97. 700 

210,322 

1879 

'              100 ,779 

98, 586 

199, 365 

1880 

'              125.601 

65, 162 

190.763 

1881 

142,193 

124,541 

266.734 

1882  .  . 

191,305 
219, 202 

140,772 
159,178 

332. 077 

1883 

378.380 

1884 

'              250, 297 

181.482 

431.779 

1885 

225,913 

169. 490 

395,403 

1885  June  1- Dec  31 

149, 400 

128.389 

277,789 

1886 

253.484 

177.065 

430,549 

1887 

261,658 

218. 900 

4<- 0,558 

1888 

290,689 

157,878 

448. 567 

1889 

329,543 

212. 102 

541.645 

1890 

353,757 

110.241 

463,998 

1891 

344.978 
243,653 

130. 528 
150,575 

475,506 

1892  . 

394.228 

1893 

308.435 

194, 129 

502,564 

1894 

307,305 

142,803 

450, 108 

1895 

270, 560 

161,415 

431,975 

1896  .    . 

267, 072 

135. 351 
90,900 

402, 423 

1897 

267,380 

358,280 

1898 

298,610 

101,274 

399,884 

1899 

223,949 

132. 701 

356.650 

1900 

266, 186 

62,987 

329,173 

1901 

225 .189 

95,992 

321.181 

1902 

245,243 

68,122 

313, 365 

1903 

1 

Totals.  . 

6,702,140 

3,930,352 

10,632,492 

v<^TbrT?^Si. 

r        ^' 

TME                \ 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL   BE  ASSESSED   FOR    FAILURE  TO    RETURN 
THIS    BOOK   ON   THE   DATE   DUE.    THE   PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY    AND    TO    $1.00    ON     THE    SEVENTH     DAY             | 
OVERDUE. 

MAR  24  1934 

"^      " 

^^^■i-.v^50r);r 

.^tO  *  ^ 

t,>AV  12^960 

1 

1 

LD  21-100jn-7,'33 

YC  2095 


•*•*>*% 


